Contemplating starting a business in Kearney, Nebraska? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Kearney.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Kearney. 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.
Kearney, Nebraska Demographic Information
Kearney has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Kearney demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Kearney.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
3370 |
| 5-9 Employees |
1572 |
| 10-19 Employees |
1026 |
| 20-49 Employees |
666 |
| 50-99 Employees |
264 |
| 100-249 Employees |
96 |
| 250-499 Employees |
18 |
| 500-999 Employees |
24 |
| 1000+ Employees |
6 |
| All Kearney Businesses |
7042 |
As a new Kearney entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Kearney 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 |
2 |
| Architectural Services |
2 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
5 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
5 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
4 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
13 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
3 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
3 |
| Books Printing |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
1 |
| Business Associations |
4 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
2 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Car Washes |
4 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
2 |
| Caterers |
3 |
| Charter Bus Industry |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
7 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
12 |
| Claims Adjusting |
1 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Collection Agencies |
3 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Commercial Photography |
1 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
3 |
| Commodity Contracts Brokerage |
1 |
| Commodity Contracts Dealing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
4 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
2 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
2 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
1 |
| Couriers |
2 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Direct Mail Advertising |
1 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
2 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
17 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
5 |
| Electrical Contractors |
13 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
4 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
3 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
3 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
6 |
| Farm Product Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
4 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
3 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
3 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
5 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
2 |
| Florists |
2 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
3 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Footwear and Leather Goods Repair |
1 |
| Formal Wear and Costume Rental |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
26 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
6 |
| General Automotive Repair |
8 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
4 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
7 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
4 |
| Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
4 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
2 |
| Home Centers |
2 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
2 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
3 |
| Industrial Mold Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
36 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
3 |
| Janitorial Services |
12 |
| Jewelry Stores |
7 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
11 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
5 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
38 |
| Limousine Service |
1 |
| Livestock Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
3 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
5 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
1 |
| Motor and Generator Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Museums |
3 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
2 |
| New Car Dealers |
8 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
4 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
2 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
6 |
| Office Administrative Services |
3 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
9 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
10 |
| Offices of Dentists |
22 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
19 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
4 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
2 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
4 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
2 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Paging |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
6 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Periodical Publishers |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
2 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
6 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
4 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
2 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
2 |
| Real Estate Credit |
5 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
1 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
3 |
| Residential Remodelers |
4 |
| Roofing Contractors |
7 |
| Savings Institutions |
3 |
| Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
9 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
2 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
7 |
| Siding Contractors |
3 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
6 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
7 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
8 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Sports Teams and Clubs |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
2 |
| Telemarketing Bureaus |
2 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Testing Laboratories |
1 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
5 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
3 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Used Car Dealers |
6 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
4 |
| Veterinary Services |
5 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
3 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
3 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
3 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
| Wineries |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
3 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
9 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Kearney Business?
We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Nebraska. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Kearney.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.
Selecting a Name For Your 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.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Kearney, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another Nebraska business.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Venture
To rise above the crowd in Kearney and advance your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your successs.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. PR Versus Advertising is a good read to get your marketing creativity flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
The Art of Selling
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Kearney or are selling to customers throughout Nebraska, 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? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Tips on Customer Referrals 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.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Kearney. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Kearney and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Kearney, Nebraska
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Kearney.
- Resources for Kearney, Nebraska Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Kearney entrepreneurs.
- Nebraska Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Nebraska.
- Nebraska Small Business Development Center - Nebraska Small Business Development Centers provided start-up, management and technical assistance to Nebraska entrepreneurs and Nebraska small business owners from offices throughout the state.
- Kearney, Nebraska Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Kearney, Nebraska newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Kearney area.
- Kearney, Nebraska Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Kearney, Nebraska area radio stations.
- Kearney, Nebraska Payroll Services - This list includes Kearney, Nebraska payroll services, national payroll services for Kearney, and helpful information on choosing a Kearney payroll service.
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