Start a Business in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

Most new companies fail, in part because the founder did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you open a 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 Detroit Lakes. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful 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. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1085
5-9 Employees	360
10-19 Employees	267
20-49 Employees	165
50-99 Employees	36
100-249 Employees	21
250-499 Employees	12
500-999 Employees	6
1000+ Employees	0
All Detroit Lakes Businesses	1952

As a new Detroit Lakes entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Detroit Lakes 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
Aircraft Manufacturing	1
Aluminum Die-Casting Foundries	1
Ambulance Services	1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering	1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance	1
Architectural Services	1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops	2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	3
Baked Goods Stores	1
Beauty Salons	9
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers	1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Boat Dealers	3
Book Stores	2
Bowling Centers	1
Business Associations	4
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Car Washes	2
Caterers	1
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Child and Youth Services	1
Child Day Care Services	4
Civic and Social Organizations	9
Claims Adjusting	1
Clothing Accessories Stores	1
Collection Agencies	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	3
Commercial Screen Printing	1
Couriers	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	2
Custom Roll Forming	1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers	1
Discount Department Stores	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	8
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	5
Electrical Contractors	7
Environmental Consulting Services	2
Family Clothing Stores	3
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Floor Covering Stores	1
Florists	1
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair	1
Framing Contractors	8
Freight Transportation Arrangement	2
Full-Service Restaurants	19
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	6
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	9
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Hardware Stores	5
Historical Sites	1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers	1
Home Health Care Services	2
Home Health Equipment Rental	2
Homes for the Elderly	1
Household Appliance Stores	4
Hunting and Trapping	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	13
Investment Advice	2
Janitorial Services	3
Jewelry Stores	1
Landscaping Services	7
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	16
Machine Shops	1
Marinas	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Masonry Contractors	1
Meat Markets	1
Metal Stamping	2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing	1
Motor Vehicle Towing	1
Motorcycle Dealers	1
Musical Groups and Artists	2
Natural Gas Distribution	1
New Car Dealers	4
New Housing Operative Builders	3
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Administrative Services	1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	8
Offices of Chiropractors	6
Offices of Dentists	8
Offices of Lawyers	9
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	4
One-Hour Photofinishing	1
Optical Goods Stores	3
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	2
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	3
Photography Studios, Portrait	2
Political Organizations	1
Professional Employer Organizations	4
Radio Stations	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	2
Real Estate Credit	1
Residential Remodelers	7
Retail Bakeries	1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	1
Roofing Contractors	2
School and Employee Bus Transportation	2
Securities Brokerage	4
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing	1
Shoe Stores	2
Sign Manufacturing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	1
Solid Waste Collection	1
Special Needs Transportation	1
Sporting Goods Stores	3
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Tax Preparation Services	1
Testing Laboratories	2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors	2
Tire Dealers	2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	2
Tobacco Stores	1
Tour Operators	1
Travel Agencies	1
Used Car Dealers	1
Used Merchandise Stores	1
Vending Machine Operators	1
Veterinary Services	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	4
Window Treatment Stores	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	2
Women's Clothing Stores	4

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

Examine a list of Detroit Lakes businesses and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Is franchising maybe a better way for you to start your business?

Most business experts recommend that you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchisees Versus Licensees. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Elmer's Breakfast*Lunch*Dinner and ALP Services. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Dating Service Franchises and Mail and Shipping Services Franchises.

Note on Detroit Lakes Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Detroit Lakes, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

Creating a business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Minnesota.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Getting your Detroit Lakes business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.

For Detroit Lakes entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Minnesota Angel Investors and our List of Minnesota Venture Capital Firms.

Promoting Your New Company

To grow your Detroit Lakes business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Marketing Research discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

The best business owners recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

With your business being located in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Minnesota universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Detroit Lakes entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Now It's Up To You

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Detroit Lakes 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 Detroit Lakes, Minnesota

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

• Resources for Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Detroit Lakes entrepreneurs.
• Minnesota Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Minnesota.
• Minnesota Small Business Development Center - The Minnesota Small Business Development Centers provide no-cost, professional business consulting to Minnesota small businesses covering a variety of business needs.
• Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Detroit Lakes, Minnesota newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Detroit Lakes area.
• Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Detroit Lakes, Minnesota area radio stations.

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