Starting a Business in Crested Butte, Colorado

Thinking about starting a business in Crested Butte, Colorado? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Crested Butte.

What Business to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Good Business Ideas.

To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start an Auto Information & Referral Services Business guide or our Opening a Vocational Schools for the Mentally Challenged Business guide.

Remember that your new business will be in Crested Butte. Some businesses will do better in Crested Butte than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Crested Butte demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Crested Butte, Colorado Demographic Information

Crested Butte has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for Crested Butte demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Crested Butte.

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	971
5-9 Employees	210
10-19 Employees	105
20-49 Employees	69
50-99 Employees	3
100-249 Employees	0
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Crested Butte Businesses	1358

As a new Crested Butte entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Crested Butte for each business category. By looking at this chart, you can get a general sense for how much competition there is in the business niche that you are pursuing.

Business Type	# of Businesses
Architectural Services	4
Art Dealers	4
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	3
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	5
Book Publishers	1
Business Associations	1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Caterers	1
Child Day Care Services	2
Clothing Accessories Stores	3
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Commercial Photography	1
Computer and Software Stores	1
Computer Systems Design Services	2
Convenience Stores	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	3
Drafting Services	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	4
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	3
Electrical Contractors	8
Electronic Shopping	1
Elementary and Secondary Schools	2
Employment Placement Agencies	1
Engineering Services	3
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	2
Fine Arts Schools	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	7
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Floor Covering Stores	1
Flooring Contractors	1
Florists	1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Framing Contractors	5
Full-Service Restaurants	26
General Automotive Repair	3
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Grantmaking Foundations	1
Graphic Design Services	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	1
Home Centers	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	1
Interior Design Services	2
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting	1
Investment Advice	1
Janitorial Services	3
Jewelry Stores	3
Landscaping Services	6
Limited-Service Restaurants	5
Locksmiths	1
Marketing Consulting Services	3
Masonry Contractors	2
Medical Laboratories	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	2
Motion Picture and Video Production	1
Museums	1
Musical Groups and Artists	1
New Housing Operative Builders	4
Newspaper Publishers	2
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Office Administrative Services	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	4
Offices of Dentists	3
Offices of Lawyers	7
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	2
Packing and Crating	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	9
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Photography Studios, Portrait	1
Portfolio Management	1
Radio Stations	1
Real Estate Credit	2
Recreational Goods Rental	2
Residential Property Managers	12
Residential Remodelers	8
Roofing Contractors	4
Rooming and Boarding Houses	1
Savings Institutions	1
Shoe Stores	1
Site Preparation Contractors	6
Skiing Facilities	2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	3
Sporting Goods Stores	11
Sports and Recreation Instruction	3
Television Broadcasting	1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters	1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors	2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	1
Tour Operators	1
Travel Agencies	1
Used Merchandise Stores	1
Veterinary Services	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	5
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	3

Selecting a Name For Your Venture

A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Crested Butte, it's very important that you make sure no other Colorado company is using the business name you want to use.

Company Formation in Crested Butte, Colorado

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The main advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Colorado, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Colorado. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Getting an EIN. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Crested Butte, Colorado, our information on Incorporating in Colorado may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Colorado.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Colorado.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Good entrepreneurs know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

Given that you are starting a business in Crested Butte, Colorado, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Colorado educational institutions. It's also smart to see if there are any Crested Butte networking organizations.

What's Next?

You have a dream -- starting a business in Crested Butte. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Crested Butte and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Crested Butte, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Crested Butte, Colorado

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Crested Butte.

• Resources for Crested Butte, Colorado Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Crested Butte entrepreneurs.
• Colorado Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Colorado.
• Colorado Small Business Development Center - The Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network is dedicated to helping small businesses throughout Colorado achieve their goals by providing free confidential counseling and various training programs.
• Crested Butte, Colorado Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Crested Butte, Colorado newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Crested Butte area.
• Crested Butte, Colorado Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Crested Butte, Colorado area radio stations.

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