Opening a Business in Kentwood, Louisiana

Are you starting a business in Kentwood, Louisiana? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Kentwood.

Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneurial life is demanding, and can be orders of magnitude more strenuous than working as an employee. Are you positive 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.

• Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Kentwood. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
• Take a look at Business Failure. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
• Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

Kentwood, Louisiana Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	396
5-9 Employees	222
10-19 Employees	96
20-49 Employees	54
50-99 Employees	18
100-249 Employees	0
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Kentwood Businesses	786

As a new Kentwood entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Kentwood 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
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	2
Beauty Salons	1
Bottled Water Manufacturing	1
Car Washes	1
Child Day Care Services	1
Consumer Lending	3
Convenience Stores	3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1
Electrical Contractors	2
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Full-Service Restaurants	8
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
General Automotive Repair	1
General Freight Trucking, Local	2
Hardware Stores	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	1
Jewelry Stores	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	5
Logging	3
New Car Dealers	2
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	2
Offices of Dentists	2
Offices of Lawyers	3
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	1
Site Preparation Contractors	2
Tax Preparation Services	1
Tire Dealers	1
Veterinary Services	2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1

Company Formation in Kentwood, Louisiana

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will protect 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.

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. Just because you are starting a business in Louisiana, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Louisiana. As it turns out, 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's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as C Corp Versus S Corp. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Kentwood, Louisiana, our information on Incorporating in Louisiana may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Louisiana.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

A business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

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

Letting the World Know You Exist

Whether your goal is to attract Kentwood customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Music on Hold is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

The best business owners know that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Kentwood, Louisiana, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Louisiana universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Kentwood entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

What's Next?

As an entrepreneur in Kentwood, 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 Kentwood businesses to be successful. 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 Kentwood, Louisiana

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

• Resources for Kentwood, Louisiana Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Kentwood entrepreneurs.
• Louisiana Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Louisiana.
• Louisiana Small Business Development Center - The Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC Network) provides low- or no-cost guidance and training for small business owners and potential owners.
• Kentwood, Louisiana Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Kentwood, Louisiana newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Kentwood area.

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