Starting a Business in East Tawas, Michigan

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

Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?

Most new companies don't make it, in part because the founder 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.

With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:

• Speak with other entrepreneurs in East Tawas. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
• You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
• Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

What Business to 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 Free Business Ideas.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Deli guide or our Starting a House Paint Business guide.

Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in East Tawas. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in East Tawas. A critical consideration is whether East Tawas demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

East Tawas, Michigan Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	321
5-9 Employees	96
10-19 Employees	63
20-49 Employees	30
50-99 Employees	9
100-249 Employees	12
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All East Tawas Businesses	531

As a new East Tawas entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in East Tawas 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
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	4
Beauty Salons	3
Book Stores	2
Business Associations	1
Car Washes	1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Child Day Care Services	2
Civic and Social Organizations	2
Confectionery and Nut Stores	1
Convenience Stores	3
Credit Unions	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	2
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	2
Family Clothing Stores	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Florists	1
Food Service Contractors	2
Fruit and Vegetable Markets	1
Full-Service Restaurants	9
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	3
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Homes for the Elderly	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	4
Janitorial Services	1
Jewelry Stores	2
Limited-Service Restaurants	4
Logging	1
Marinas	1
Masonry Contractors	2
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Mixed Mode Transit Systems	1
Motor Vehicle Metal Stamping	1
New Car Dealers	2
Office Administrative Services	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Dentists	2
Offices of Lawyers	7
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Other Holding Companies	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Professional Employer Organizations	1
Recreational Goods Rental	1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers	1
Residential Remodelers	2
Securities Brokerage	2
Shoe Stores	2
Site Preparation Contractors	3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	2
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Temporary Help Services	2
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters	1
Truss Manufacturing	1
Veterinary Services	1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	2

Is Franchising a Better Option?

As you drive around East Tawas, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Our advice is to look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Benefits of Owning A Franchise. 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 Real Estate One and BannaStrow's. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Fitness Franchises and Mail and Shipping Services Franchises.

Note on East Tawas Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in East Tawas.

Getting the Word Out About Your New Startup

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

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Creating a Web Presence 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.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

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

With your business being located in East Tawas, Michigan, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Michigan universities, colleges and community colleges. We also recommend you look into East Tawas networking organizations.

Moving Forward

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

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

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

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in East Tawas, Michigan

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

• Resources for East Tawas, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist East Tawas entrepreneurs.
• Michigan Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Michigan.
• Michigan Small Business Development Center - This organization supports 12 regional offices and over 30 satellite offices, each providing counseling and training to Michigan small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the 83 counties in Michigan. Services to entrepreneurs are offered through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
• East Tawas, Michigan Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for East Tawas, Michigan newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the East Tawas area.

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