Arkansas Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Fort Smith, Arkansas
Contemplating starting a business in Fort Smith, Arkansas? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Fort Smith.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Fort Smith. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- Take a look at The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. 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.
Fort Smith, Arkansas Demographic Information
Fort Smith has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Fort Smith demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Fort Smith.
Businesses
As a new Fort Smith entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Fort Smith 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
Do You Need a 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. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Software. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Arkansas.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Obtaining startup financing for your Fort Smith business is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.
For Fort Smith entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of Arkansas Angel Investors and our List of Arkansas Venture Capital Firms.
The Art of Selling
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Fort Smith or are selling to customers throughout Arkansas, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Compensating Sales People is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
Successful business owners recognize that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Fort Smith, Arkansas, you should get information on some of the many programs available at nearby Arkansas universities, colleges and community colleges. Another way to keep up on your learning is to investigate networking groups or organizations in which Fort Smith entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Fort Smith. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Fort Smith businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Fort Smith entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Fort Smith, Arkansas
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Fort Smith.
- Resources for Fort Smith, Arkansas Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Fort Smith entrepreneurs.
- Arkansas Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Arkansas.
- Arkansas Small Business Development Center - The Arkansas Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) is a University-based economic development program which provides assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout Arkansas via a statewide network of seven offices.
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