Alaska Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Fairbanks, Alaska
Contemplating starting a business in Fairbanks, Alaska? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Fairbanks.
What Business Are You Starting?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? We recommend that you read Finding Your Niche in Life.
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 Opening a Mats & Matting Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide or our Starting a Steel Products Business guide.
Remember that you are starting a business in Fairbanks. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Fairbanks. A critical consideration is whether Fairbanks demographics mesh well with your startup concept.
Fairbanks, Alaska Demographic Information
Fairbanks has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Fairbanks demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Fairbanks.
Businesses
As a new Fairbanks entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Fairbanks 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.
Businesses
Forming a Company in Fairbanks, Alaska
It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Alaska, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Alaska. As it turns out, 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Piercing the Corporate Veil. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Fairbanks, Alaska, our information on Incorporating in Alaska may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Alaska.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
A business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
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 Alaska.
Letting the World Know You Exist
Whether your goal is to attract Fairbanks customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Business Logo Design 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.
The Art of Selling
Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Fairbanks business to do well.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Hiring Telemarketing Firms to Generate Sales Leads offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
What's Next?
Most new Fairbanks 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.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Fairbanks and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Fairbanks, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Fairbanks, Alaska
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Fairbanks.
- Resources for Fairbanks, Alaska Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Fairbanks entrepreneurs.
- Alaska Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Alaska.
- Alaska Small Business Development Center - The Alaska Small Business Development Center, which is hosted by the University of Alaska and funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, has assisted businesses by providing free, confidential technical business assistance and low-cost business training in Alaska for twenty years.
More Startup Articles for Alaska Cities
Starting a Business in Elmendorf AFB
Starting a Business in Fort Richardson
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Alaska
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs