Opening a Business in Dayton, Iowa

Contemplating starting a business in Dayton, Iowa? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Dayton.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new companies do not succeed, in part because the founder did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

• Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Dayton. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
• Peruse Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
• Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Good Business Ideas.

For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Reverse Mortgages Business guide or our How to Start a Welding Equipment Rental Business guide.

Always keep in mind that your new business will be in Dayton. Some businesses will do better in Dayton than others. Make sure you fully understand Dayton demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Dayton, Iowa Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1275
5-9 Employees	204
10-19 Employees	102
20-49 Employees	51
50-99 Employees	0
100-249 Employees	0
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Dayton Businesses	1632

As a new Dayton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Dayton 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
Continuing Care Retirement Communities	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	1
Electrical Contractors	1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	2
Full-Service Restaurants	3
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Grantmaking Foundations	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Offices of Lawyers	1
Site Preparation Contractors	1
Solid Waste Collection	2
Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing	1
Used Car Dealers	1

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Writing a business plan is vital to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Starting a business without a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Iowa.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your Dayton business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled 504 Loans.

For Dayton entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Iowa Angel Investors and our List of Iowa Venture Capital Firms.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

The best entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Dayton, Iowa, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Iowa educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Dayton entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

Most new Dayton businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

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

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Dayton and throughout the United States . We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Dayton, Iowa

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

• Resources for Dayton, Iowa Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Dayton entrepreneurs.
• Iowa Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Iowa.
• Iowa Small Business Development Center - The Iowa SBDC conducts research, counsels, and trains business people in management, financing, and operating small businesses. They provide comprehensive information services and access to experts in a variety of fields. This is a great resource for Iowa entrepreneurs!
• Dayton, Iowa Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Dayton, Iowa newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Dayton area.

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