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  Entrepreneurial Resources - Advice for Michigan Entrepreneurs  
  Grand Marais, Michigan Resources for Entrepreneurs  
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Starting a Business in Grand Marais, Michigan

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

Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?

Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Grand Marais. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • 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. 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.

Which Business to Choose?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at 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 Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Remember that your new business will be in Grand Marais. If Grand Marais already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. A critical consideration is whether Grand Marais demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Grand Marais, Michigan Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees 30
5-9 Employees 12
10-19 Employees 6
20-49 Employees 3
50-99 Employees 0
100-249 Employees 0
250-499 Employees 0
500-999 Employees 0
1000+ Employees 0
All Grand Marais Businesses 51

As a new Grand Marais entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Grand Marais 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
Book Stores 1
Computer Systems Design Services 1
Full-Service Restaurants 1
Landscaping Services 1
Limited-Service Restaurants 2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing 1
Residential Remodelers 1

Should You Franchise?

As you drive around Grand Marais, it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Our recommendation is that you consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Franchise Tradeshows. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

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

Sample franchise opportunities include Subway Franchises and Starbucks Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Moving Franchises.

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

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Grand Marais Business?

We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Michigan. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Grand Marais.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Naming the Company

A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.

Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Grand Marais, it's critical that you ensure that no Michigan company has already registered the company name you have selected.

Forming a Company in Grand Marais, Michigan

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The main advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as 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 Michigan, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Michigan. In fact, 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. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Dissolving a Corporation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Grand Marais, Michigan, our web page covering Incorporating in Michigan may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Michigan.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Free Business Plan Templates. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Michigan.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Obtaining startup financing for your Grand Marais business 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.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Borrowing Money from Friends and Family.

For Grand Marais entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, we have assembled a List of Michigan Angel Investors and our List of Michigan Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

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

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Toll Free Numbers is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

The Art of Selling

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Grand Marais business, you need to focus on sales.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Selling Products on eBay offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

The best entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.

Given that you are starting a business in Grand Marais, Michigan, you should get information on some of the learning programs at local Michigan educational institutions. Another way to keep up on your entrepreneurial education is to investigate networking groups or organizations in which Grand Marais entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Now It's Up To You

As an entrepreneur in Grand Marais, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Grand Marais 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 Grand Marais, Michigan

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

  • Resources for Grand Marais, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Grand Marais 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.
  • Grand Marais, Michigan Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Grand Marais, Michigan newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Grand Marais area.

More Startup Articles for Michigan Cities
Starting a Business in Grand Ledge
Starting a Business in Grand Rapids

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Michigan

 

 

Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Starting a Business - Business Ideas - Naming and Branding - City Guides

Buying a Business - Writing a Business Plan - Raising Money - Incorporate

Small Business Marketing - Customer Service Tips - Entrepreneurial Selling

Startup Leadership - Strategy - Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurs

Articles on Exporting - Human Resources for Entrepreneurs - Workers Comp

Legal Information for Entrepreneurs - Accounting for Entrepreneurs

Business Credit Cards - Nonprofit Entrepreneurs - Mission Statements

Tax Tips and Resources for Entrepreneurs - Operating Your Startup Business

Real Estate Decisions for Entrepreneurs - Franchising - Selling a Business

Starting a Home Business - Small Business Technology - Business Travel

Business Finance - Advice for Retailers - Entrepreneurship for Scientists

Administrative Professionals / Office Managers - Family Business Advice

Good Businesses to Start - Payroll Service Information - Productivity Tips

Small Business Websites - Search Engine Optimization - Online Reputation

Search Engine Marketing - Social Marketing Optimization - Radio Ad Costs

Newspaper Advertising Rates - City-Specific Resources for Entrepreneurs

Small Business Insurance - Global Entrepreneurship - Entrepreneur Features

Small Business Loans - Studying Entrepreneurship - Social Entrepreneurship

Veteran Entrepreneurs - Useful Web Sites for Entrepreneurs - Dell Deals

Entrepreneurial Resources by State - Resources for Young Entrepreneurs

African American Entrepreneurs - Resources for Hispanic Entrepreneurs

Resources for Asian Entrepreneurs - Resources for Women Entrepreneurs

Resources for Gay Entrepreneurs - Businesses for Sale - Office Supplies

Lists of Small Business Incubators - Lists of Angel Investors

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms - Franchise Opportunities

Recommended Products and Services for Entrepreneurs - Contributors

Get FREE Price Quotes from Multiple Vendors - Business Glossary