Starting a Business in Kihei, Hawaii

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

Most new ventures don't make it, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Kihei. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
• 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. 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.

Kihei, Hawaii Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1360
5-9 Employees	504
10-19 Employees	342
20-49 Employees	183
50-99 Employees	78
100-249 Employees	6
250-499 Employees	9
500-999 Employees	6
1000+ Employees	6
All Kihei Businesses	2494

As a new Kihei entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Kihei 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
Advertising Agencies	1
Architectural Services	5
Art Dealers	8
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	2
Baked Goods Stores	1
Beauty Salons	7
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Book Publishers	1
Book Stores	2
Building Inspection Services	1
Cafeterias	1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores	1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Caterers	3
Charter Bus Industry	1
Child Day Care Services	5
Civic and Social Organizations	1
Clothing Accessories Stores	4
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Commercial Photography	1
Commercial Screen Printing	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Computer Training	1
Convenience Stores	5
Custom Computer Programming Services	5
Dental Laboratories	1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers	1
Digital Printing	1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers	3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	6
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	1
Educational Support Services	1
Electrical Contractors	9
Elementary and Secondary Schools	2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	2
Family Clothing Stores	12
Fine Arts Schools	3
Finish Carpentry Contractors	5
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	5
Flooring Contractors	1
Florists	2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental	1
Framing Contractors	3
Full-Service Restaurants	49
Furniture Stores	4
General Automotive Repair	4
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
General Rental Centers	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	18
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	4
Graphic Design Services	3
Hardware Stores	1
HMO Medical Centers	1
Home Health Care Services	1
Homes for the Elderly	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	5
Interior Design Services	2
Internet Service Providers	1
Janitorial Services	11
Jewelry Stores	14
Land Subdivision	2
Landscape Architectural Services	1
Landscaping Services	15
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	26
Limousine Service	3
Local Messengers and Local Delivery	1
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores	1
Marinas	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Masonry Contractors	2
Meat Processed from Carcasses	1
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	7
Motion Picture and Video Production	1
Nail Salons	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Office Administrative Services	1
Offices of Chiropractors	5
Offices of Dentists	5
Offices of Lawyers	1
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Other Holding Companies	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	1
Optical Goods Stores	1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	5
Passenger Car Rental	5
Periodical Publishers	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	3
Photography Studios, Portrait	11
Private Mail Centers	1
Public Relations Agencies	1
Quick Printing	1
Radio Stations	1
Real Estate Credit	4
Recreational Goods Rental	7
Residential Property Managers	11
Residential Remodelers	9
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	1
Roofing Contractors	4
Savings Institutions	1
Securities Brokerage	2
Sewage Treatment Facilities	1
Shoe Stores	3
Sign Manufacturing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	10
Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing	1
Software Publishers	1
Solid Waste Collection	1
Sporting Goods Stores	5
Sports and Recreation Instruction	8
Tax Preparation Services	4
Taxi Service	1
Telecommunications Resellers	1
Telephone Answering Services	2
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters	1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors	5
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing	1
Tour Operators	4
Translation and Interpretation Services	1
Travel Agencies	7
Used Car Dealers	2
Used Merchandise Stores	2
Veterinary Services	4
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	5

Should You Franchise?

Examine a list of Kihei businesses and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?

Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Franchise Versus Business Opportunity. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

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

Representative franchise opportunities include AmeriStop and Wings Over. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Tax Preparation Franchises and Child Safety Franchises.

Note on Kihei Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Kihei, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Forming a Company in Kihei, Hawaii

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The principal 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 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 Hawaii, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Hawaii. 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 Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Kihei, Hawaii, our web page covering Incorporating in Hawaii may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Hawaii.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Obtaining startup financing for your Kihei business will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.

For Kihei entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Hawaii Angel Investors and our List of Hawaii Venture Capital Firms.

Letting the World Know You Exist

Whether your goal is to attract Kihei customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a excellent marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Advertising Campaigns discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Good entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Kihei, Hawaii, you should investigate some of the learning programs at local Hawaii educational institutions. Another way to keep up on your learning is to investigate Kihei networking organizations.

Now It's Up To You

Most new Kihei businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Kihei businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Kihei, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Kihei, Hawaii

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

• Resources for Kihei, Hawaii Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Kihei entrepreneurs.
• Hawaii Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Hawaii.
• Hawaii Small Business Development Center - The Hawaii SBDC Network provides you with the resources you need for starting a new business or expanding an existing one.
• Kihei, Hawaii Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Kihei, Hawaii newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Kihei area.
• Kihei, Hawaii Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Kihei, Hawaii area radio stations.

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Hawaii
Starting a Business in Kaunakakai
Starting a Business in Lahaina

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