Thinking about starting a business in Iron Mountain, Michigan? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Iron Mountain.
Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur is hard work, and can be orders of magnitude more strenuous than working as an employee. Are you sure you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Iron Mountain. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Iron Mountain, Michigan Demographic Information
Iron Mountain has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Iron Mountain demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Iron Mountain.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
922 |
| 5-9 Employees |
360 |
| 10-19 Employees |
264 |
| 20-49 Employees |
126 |
| 50-99 Employees |
24 |
| 100-249 Employees |
15 |
| 250-499 Employees |
12 |
| 500-999 Employees |
9 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Iron Mountain Businesses |
1732 |
As a new Iron Mountain entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Iron Mountain 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 |
|
Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Amusement Arcades |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
1 |
| Automobile Driving Schools |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
8 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
2 |
| Beauty Salons |
9 |
|
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
3 |
| Bottled Water Manufacturing |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
2 |
|
Car Washes |
3 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
2 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
4 |
| Claims Adjusting |
1 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
|
Commercial Bakeries |
1 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Computer Facilities Management Services |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
| Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Construction Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
|
Couriers |
5 |
| Court Reporting and Stenotype Services |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
2 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
8 |
| Dry Pasta Manufacturing |
1 |
|
Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
1 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
3 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
3 |
| Engineering Services |
4 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
|
Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
1 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
|
Full-Service Restaurants |
15 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
3 |
| General Automotive Repair |
9 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
2 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
7 |
|
Glass and Glazing Contractors |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
2 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
3 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
3 |
|
Industrial Building Construction |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
10 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
2 |
| Iron Foundries |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
4 |
| Jewelry Stores |
1 |
|
Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
16 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
1 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Logging |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
2 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
|
Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Mobile Food Services |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
5 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
1 |
|
Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
3 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
5 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
5 |
| Offices of Dentists |
7 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
11 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
|
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
2 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
3 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
3 |
| Periodical Publishers |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
3 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
2 |
|
Photography Studios, Portrait |
1 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Recreational Goods Rental |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
3 |
| Residential Remodelers |
7 |
| Roofing Contractors |
3 |
|
Securities Brokerage |
3 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
6 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
3 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
7 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
|
Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Textile Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
5 |
| Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Used Car Dealers |
3 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
|
Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
1 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
2 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
3 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
4 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Iron Mountain Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Michigan. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Iron Mountain.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Naming the Company
Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.
Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.
On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Iron Mountain, it's critical that you ensure that you will be the only Michigan company using the business name you have chosen.
Forming a Company in Iron Mountain, Michigan
It's very important that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will protect you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
Incorporating 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 Michigan, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Michigan. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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 How to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Iron Mountain, Michigan, our information on Incorporating in Michigan may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Michigan.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Iron Mountain business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
Take advantage of our many articles on finding startup capital, such as How to Raise Money.
For Iron Mountain entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, we have assembled a List of Michigan Angel Investors and our List of Michigan Venture Capital Firms.
What's Next?
As an entrepreneur in Iron Mountain, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Iron Mountain businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Iron Mountain, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Iron Mountain, Michigan
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Iron Mountain.
- Resources for Iron Mountain, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Iron Mountain 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.
- Iron Mountain, Michigan Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Iron Mountain, Michigan newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Iron Mountain area.
- Iron Mountain, Michigan Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Iron Mountain, Michigan area radio stations.
- Iron Mountain, Michigan Payroll Services - This list includes Iron Mountain, Michigan payroll services, national payroll services for Iron Mountain, and helpful information on choosing a Iron Mountain payroll service.
- Iron Mountain, Michigan Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Iron Mountain, Michigan, such as business brokers in Iron Mountain and other helpful information on how to buy a Iron Mountain business.
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