Opening a Business in Florence, Oregon

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

What Type of Business Should You Start?

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Free Business Ideas.

If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Meteorological Consultants Business guide or our Opening an Epoxies Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in Florence. Some businesses will do better in Florence than others. A critical consideration is whether Florence demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Florence, Oregon Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	10868
5-9 Employees	3978
10-19 Employees	1716
20-49 Employees	1209
50-99 Employees	273
100-249 Employees	117
250-499 Employees	39
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Florence Businesses	18200

As a new Florence entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Florence 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
Appliance Repair and Maintenance	1
Art Dealers	2
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	4
Beauty Salons	5
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Book Stores	1
Bowling Centers	2
Business Associations	2
Cafeterias	1
Car Washes	1
Caterers	2
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores	1
Civic and Social Organizations	5
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Community Food Services	1
Computer Systems Design Services	3
Continuing Care Retirement Communities	1
Convenience Stores	4
Couriers	2
Credit Unions	2
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	3
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	2
Electrical Contractors	4
Engineering Services	1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	2
Family Clothing Stores	1
Family Planning Centers	1
Finfish Fishing	3
Finish Carpentry Contractors	4
Fish and Seafood Markets	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	4
Floor Covering Stores	2
Flooring Contractors	3
Florists	1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Food Service Contractors	1
Framing Contractors	2
Fruit and Vegetable Markets	1
Full-Service Restaurants	27
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers	1
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	5
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	10
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	2
Hardware Stores	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	2
Home Health Care Services	1
Home Health Equipment Rental	1
Homes for the Elderly	4
Household Appliance Stores	2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	3
Interior Design Services	1
Investment Advice	1
Janitorial Services	1
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing	1
Jewelry Stores	2
Land Subdivision	6
Landscaping Services	2
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	4
Limited-Service Restaurants	10
Logging	8
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores	1
Machine Shops	1
Mail-Order Houses	1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	1
Masonry Contractors	4
Medical Laboratories	1
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	2
Motion Picture and Video Production	1
Motorcycle Dealers	2
New Car Dealers	1
New Housing Operative Builders	3
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	2
Office Administrative Services	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	4
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	7
Offices of Lawyers	5
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	4
Periodical Publishers	1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	3
Photography Studios, Portrait	1
Private Mail Centers	1
Professional Employer Organizations	2
Public Relations Agencies	1
Radio Stations	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	2
Real Estate Credit	2
Recreational Goods Rental	1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers	1
Residential Property Managers	4
Residential Remodelers	6
Roofing Contractors	1
Sales Financing	1
Savings Institutions	2
Securities Brokerage	2
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Shoe Stores	1
Site Preparation Contractors	1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	4
Software Publishers	2
Solid Waste Collection	1
Sporting Goods Stores	3
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Tax Preparation Services	2
Taxi Service	1
Temporary Shelters	1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers	1
Tire Dealers	1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	3
Tobacco Stores	1
Tour Operators	1
Travel Agencies	2
Used Merchandise Stores	3
Veterinary Services	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	2

Forming a Company in Florence, Oregon

It's very important that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

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 Oregon, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Oregon. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

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 Incorporating Online. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Florence, Oregon, our information on Incorporating in Oregon may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Oregon.

The Role of the Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without 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 face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Oregon.

Raising Capital for Your Business

Getting your Florence business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Recognizing this challenge, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Business Credit Evaluation.

For Florence entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, browse our List of Oregon Angel Investors and our List of Oregon Venture Capital Firms.

Promoting Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract Florence customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a excellent marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Advertising Campaigns 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 taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

Successful entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Florence, Oregon, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Oregon universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Florence entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

What's Next?

Most new Florence 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 Florence and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Florence, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Florence, Oregon

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

• Resources for Florence, Oregon Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Florence entrepreneurs.
• Oregon Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Oregon.
• Oregon Small Business Development Center - Oregon Small Business Development Centers use a client-centered approach to deliver counseling, training, information and technical assistance in all aspects of small business management. There is no fee for their assistance.
• Florence, Oregon Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Florence, Oregon newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Florence area.
• Florence, Oregon Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Florence, Oregon area radio stations.
• Florence, Oregon Payroll Services - This list includes Florence, Oregon payroll services, national payroll services for Florence, and helpful information on choosing a Florence payroll service.

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Oregon
Starting a Business in Eugene
Starting a Business in Forest Grove

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Oregon
Starting a Business Guides for Other States