Thinking about starting a business in Decorah, Iowa? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Decorah.
Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
Most startup ventures fail, in part because the business owner 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:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Decorah. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
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 Opening a Heating & Air Conditioning Service & Repair Business guide or our How to Start a Reforestation Service & Equipment Business guide.
Don't forget that your new startup will be located in Decorah. Some businesses will do better in Decorah than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Decorah demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Decorah, Iowa Demographic Information
Decorah has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Decorah demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Decorah.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
679 |
| 5-9 Employees |
264 |
| 10-19 Employees |
201 |
| 20-49 Employees |
129 |
| 50-99 Employees |
48 |
| 100-249 Employees |
15 |
| 250-499 Employees |
9 |
| 500-999 Employees |
3 |
| 1000+ Employees |
3 |
| All Decorah Businesses |
1351 |
As a new Decorah entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Decorah 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 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
3 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
2 |
| Beauty Salons |
7 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
2 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Car Washes |
3 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
3 |
| Charter Bus Industry |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
3 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
4 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Commercial Bakeries |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
1 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
2 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Bureaus |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Crop Harvesting, Primarily by Machine |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
4 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
5 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
2 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
4 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Family Planning Centers |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
4 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
4 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
14 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
3 |
| General Automotive Repair |
3 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
4 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Hardware Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
2 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Industrial Mold Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
15 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
2 |
| Jewelry Stores |
3 |
| Landscaping Services |
4 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
9 |
| Livestock Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
3 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
1 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Museums |
2 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
5 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Offices of Bank Holding Companies |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
1 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
6 |
| Offices of Dentists |
6 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
10 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Packing and Crating |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
2 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
2 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Poultry Processing |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Racetracks |
1 |
| Radio Networks |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
2 |
| Residential Remodelers |
4 |
| Securities Brokerage |
3 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
4 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
4 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
3 |
| Telemarketing Bureaus |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
1 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Used Car Dealers |
2 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
2 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
3 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
3 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
4 |
What About Buying an Existing Decorah Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Iowa. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Decorah.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.
Choosing a Business Name
Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.
Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are planning on starting a business in Decorah, it's imperative that you check now that no other Iowa company is using the business name you want to use.
Bring in Revenues
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Decorah business to do well.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Sales Forecasting is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
What's Next?
Most new Decorah 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 Decorah and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Decorah, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Decorah, Iowa
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Decorah.
- Resources for Decorah, Iowa Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Decorah 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!
- Decorah, Iowa Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Decorah, Iowa newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Decorah area.
- Decorah, Iowa Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Decorah, Iowa area radio stations.
- Decorah, Iowa Payroll Services - This list includes Decorah, Iowa payroll services, national payroll services for Decorah, and helpful information on choosing a Decorah payroll service.
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