Start a Business in La Grange, Kentucky

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

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Running your own business is demanding, much more arduous than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in La Grange. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
• We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Evaluating Your Idea.

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 Opening a Foam Products Business guide or our Starting a Forklift & Industrial Truck Dealers Business guide.

Don't forget that you are opening your new business in La Grange. Some businesses will do better in La Grange than others. A critical consideration is whether La Grange demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

La Grange, Kentucky Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	5131
5-9 Employees	1638
10-19 Employees	1281
20-49 Employees	693
50-99 Employees	147
100-249 Employees	84
250-499 Employees	84
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All La Grange Businesses	9058

As a new La Grange entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in La Grange 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
Architectural Services	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	2
Beauty Salons	8
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Bituminous Coal Underground Mining	1
Business Associations	1
Cafeterias	1
Caterers	1
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Child Day Care Services	4
Civic and Social Organizations	2
Collection Agencies	1
Commercial Bakeries	1
Commercial Screen Printing	1
Commodity Contracts Dealing	1
Computer Systems Design Services	5
Consumer Lending	1
Convenience Stores	1
Convention and Trade Show Organizers	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	2
Dental Laboratories	1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	2
Electrical Contractors	3
Engineering Services	2
Finish Carpentry Contractors	8
Floor Covering Stores	1
Flooring Contractors	1
Florists	1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Food Service Contractors	6
Framing Contractors	3
Full-Service Restaurants	8
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	2
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
General Rental Centers	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	2
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers	1
Heating Oil Dealers	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	2
Home Centers	1
Home Health Care Services	1
Home Health Equipment Rental	1
Homes for the Elderly	2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	6
Janitorial Services	3
Landscaping Services	9
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	17
Masonry Contractors	3
Monetary Authorities-Central Bank	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	3
Museums	1
New Car Dealers	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Administrative Services	2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Chiropractors	4
Offices of Dentists	7
Offices of Lawyers	14
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Other Holding Companies	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	5
Periodical Publishers	2
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Photography Studios, Portrait	1
Portfolio Management	1
Public Relations Agencies	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	1
Remediation Services	1
Residential Remodelers	3
Securities Brokerage	3
Siding Contractors	1
Site Preparation Contractors	10
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	1
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Tax Preparation Services	4
Telecommunications Resellers	1
Telemarketing Bureaus	1
Temporary Shelters	1
Testing Laboratories	1
Tire Dealers	2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	1
Tobacco Stores	3
Used Car Dealers	2
Used Merchandise Stores	4
Veterinary Services	4
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	6
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	1

Picking a Company Name

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.

Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in La Grange, it's critical that you ensure that no other Kentucky company is using the business name you want to use.

Marketing Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract La Grange customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your successs.

You can learn all about marketing on our site. Bus Bench Advertising Costs is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. 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

Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in La Grange, Kentucky, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Kentucky educational institutions. It's also wise to see if there are any La Grange networking organizations.

What's Next?

As an entrepreneur in La Grange, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

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

We are here to help La Grange 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 La Grange, Kentucky

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

• Resources for La Grange, Kentucky Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist La Grange entrepreneurs.
• Kentucky Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Kentucky.
• Kentucky Small Business Development Center - The Kentucky Small Business Development Center (KSBDC) has been assisting Kentucky small business community for more than 25 years. KSBDC is co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and is administered by the University of Kentucky in partnership with regional universities, community and private colleges, and the private sector.
• La Grange, Kentucky Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for La Grange, Kentucky newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the La Grange area.

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