Thinking about starting a business in Greeley, Nebraska? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Greeley.
Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
Most startup businesses fail, in part because the founder did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Greeley. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- Peruse Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
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? If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our 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 starting a business in Greeley has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Greeley than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Greeley demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Greeley, Nebraska Demographic Information
Greeley has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Greeley demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Greeley.
| Business Size | # of Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
72 |
| 5-9 Employees |
54 |
| 10-19 Employees |
9 |
| 20-49 Employees |
0 |
| 50-99 Employees |
9 |
| 100-249 Employees |
0 |
| 250-499 Employees |
0 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Greeley Businesses |
144 |
As a new Greeley entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Greeley 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 |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
1 |
|
Home Health Care Services |
1 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?
Examine a list of Greeley businesses and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Is franchising maybe a better way for you to start your business?
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Common Franchisee Mistakes. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Sample franchise opportunities include Subway Franchises and Starbucks Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Moving Franchises.
Note on Greeley Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Greeley.
Is Buying an Existing Greeley Business a Good Strategy?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Nebraska. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Greeley.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Picking a Business Name
A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.
We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.
On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Greeley, it's imperative that you check now that you will be the only Nebraska company using the business name you have chosen.
Forming a Company in Greeley, Nebraska
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will insulate 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.
Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Nebraska, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Nebraska. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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 Incorporating Online. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Greeley, Nebraska, our information on Incorporating in Nebraska may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Nebraska.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
Creating a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Outsourcing. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Nebraska.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Greeley business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Business Incubators.
For Greeley entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, you'll want to take a look at our List of Nebraska Angel Investors and our List of Nebraska Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Startup
Whether your goal is to attract Greeley customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your beating the competition.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Technology Marketing discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Ramping Up Sales
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Greeley business to do well.
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.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Greeley, Nebraska, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Nebraska universities, colleges and community colleges. We also suggest you look into Greeley networking organizations.
What's Next?
Most new Greeley 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.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Greeley 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 Greeley, Nebraska
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Greeley.
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