Start a Business in Denver, Colorado

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

Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?

Most new businesses fail, in part because the business owner did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

• Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Denver. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
• Take a look at Starting a Company. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
• Talk it over with a close friend or partner. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

Denver, Colorado Demographic Information

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

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

As a new Denver entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Denver 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.

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Denver Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Colorado. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Denver.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Naming the Business

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.

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.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Denver, it's imperative that you check now that your company name has not already been claimed by another Colorado business.

Forming a Company in Denver, Colorado

It's essential that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

When forming a company, you will choose from many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporation 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. If you are starting a business in Colorado, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Colorado. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Denver, Colorado, our web page covering Incorporating in Colorado may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Colorado.

Promoting Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract Denver customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Typical Direct Mail Response Rates discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Some InterestingDenver Entrepreneurs

We're compiling a number of interviews with Denver entrepreneurs. Enjoy!

• Spicy Pickle Franchising Co-Founder Interview
• Interview with LionSaves Founder Mike Sweeney

Moving Forward

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

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Denver 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 Denver, Colorado

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

• Resources for Denver, Colorado Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Denver 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.
• Denver, Colorado Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Denver, Colorado newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Denver area.
• Denver, Colorado Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Denver, Colorado area radio stations.
• Denver, Colorado Payroll Services - This list includes Denver, Colorado payroll services, national payroll services for Denver, and helpful information on choosing a Denver payroll service.
• Denver, Colorado Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Denver, Colorado, such as business brokers in Denver and other helpful information on how to buy a Denver business.