Contemplating starting a business in La Grande, Oregon? We walk you through the process of opening a business in La Grande.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Running your own business is hard work, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you positive you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
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:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in La Grande. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- Take a look at The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
What Business Are You Starting?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Free Business Ideas.
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 an Airline Business guide or our Opening a Laser Cutting Business guide.
Don't forget that your new startup will be located in La Grande. Some businesses will do better in La Grande than others. Study La Grande demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
La Grande, Oregon Demographic Information
La Grande has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for La Grande demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in La Grande.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1007 |
| 5-9 Employees |
417 |
| 10-19 Employees |
248 |
| 20-49 Employees |
138 |
| 50-99 Employees |
33 |
| 100-249 Employees |
18 |
| 250-499 Employees |
6 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All La Grande Businesses |
1867 |
As a new La Grande entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in La Grande 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 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
2 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
6 |
| Beauty Salons |
5 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Book Stores |
3 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
2 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
3 |
| Child Day Care Services |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
3 |
| Claims Adjusting |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Construction Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
2 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
2 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
1 |
| Couriers |
3 |
| Credit Bureaus |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Directory and Mailing List Publishers |
2 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
3 |
| Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters |
1 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
2 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
4 |
| Engineering Services |
2 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
2 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
2 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
15 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
4 |
| General Automotive Repair |
10 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
3 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
3 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
8 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
19 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
4 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
3 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
13 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
1 |
| Logging |
12 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
2 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
2 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
4 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
2 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
5 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
5 |
| Offices of Dentists |
10 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
18 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
3 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Paging |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
3 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
2 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
2 |
| Portfolio Management |
2 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
1 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
2 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
4 |
| Retail Bakeries |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
3 |
| Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation |
1 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
4 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
2 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
3 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
2 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Support Activities for Forestry |
9 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
5 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Temporary Shelters |
2 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing |
4 |
| Truss Manufacturing |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
1 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
5 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
2 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
5 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
2 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing La Grande Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Oregon. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in La Grande.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Naming the 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.
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.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in La Grande, it's critical that you ensure that no other Oregon company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in La Grande, Oregon
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will separate 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. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in Oregon, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Oregon. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles 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 La Grande, Oregon, our information on Incorporating in Oregon may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Oregon.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Company
To grow your La Grande business, you need a great marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Telemarketing Service Costs is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
What's Next?
As an entrepreneur in La Grande, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
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 La Grande and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in La Grande, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in La Grande, Oregon
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in La Grande.
- Resources for La Grande, Oregon Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist La Grande entrepreneurs.
- Oregon Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Oregon.
- Oregon Small Business Development Center - Oregon Small Business Development Centers use a client-centered approach to deliver counseling, training, information and technical assistance in all aspects of small business management. There is no fee for their assistance.
- La Grande, Oregon Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for La Grande, Oregon newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the La Grande area.
- La Grande, Oregon Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for La Grande, Oregon area radio stations.
- La Grande, Oregon Payroll Services - This list includes La Grande, Oregon payroll services, national payroll services for La Grande, and helpful information on choosing a La Grande payroll service.
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