Opening a Business in Lake Wales, Florida

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

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Good 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 Opening a Ministries Churches Business guide or our Starting a Scientology Churches Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in Lake Wales. Some businesses will do better in Lake Wales than others. Study Lake Wales demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Lake Wales, Florida Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1200
5-9 Employees	384
10-19 Employees	303
20-49 Employees	135
50-99 Employees	66
100-249 Employees	39
250-499 Employees	12
500-999 Employees	6
1000+ Employees	0
All Lake Wales Businesses	2145

As a new Lake Wales entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lake Wales 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
Abrasive Product Manufacturing	1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance	1
Architectural Services	2
Art Dealers	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	4
Beauty Salons	9
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Boat Building	1
Boat Dealers	1
Book Publishers	1
Book Stores	2
Bowling Centers	1
Business and Secretarial Schools	1
Business Associations	1
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores	1
Canvas and Related Product Mills	1
Car Washes	2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Child and Youth Services	1
Child Day Care Services	8
Civic and Social Organizations	3
Claims Adjusting	1
Clothing Accessories Stores	2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Collection Agencies	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Commodity Contracts Dealing	1
Computer and Software Stores	3
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing	1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining	3
Consumer Lending	2
Convenience Stores	4
Couriers	2
Credit Unions	1
Crop Harvesting, Primarily by Machine	1
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing	1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers	1
Drafting Services	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	2
Educational Support Services	1
Electrical Contractors	8
Elementary and Secondary Schools	2
Engineering Services	3
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	3
Family Clothing Stores	5
Farm Management Services	3
Finish Carpentry Contractors	2
Fish and Seafood Markets	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Floor Covering Stores	2
Flooring Contractors	4
Florists	3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	2
Food Service Contractors	4
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation	2
Framing Contractors	6
Freight Transportation Arrangement	3
Fruit and Vegetable Canning	2
Full-Service Restaurants	26
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	2
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	4
General Freight Trucking, Local	5
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
General Rental Centers	1
General Warehousing and Storage	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	3
Grantmaking Foundations	1
Graphic Design Services	1
Hardware Stores	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	1
Home Centers	1
Home Health Care Services	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Hunting and Trapping	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	14
Interior Design Services	2
Investigation Services	1
Investment Advice	2
Janitorial Services	3
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing	1
Jewelry Stores	9
Kidney Dialysis Centers	2
Land Subdivision	2
Landscaping Services	8
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	6
Limited-Service Restaurants	19
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	1
Marinas	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Masonry Contractors	3
Media Representatives	1
Medical Laboratories	1
Men's Clothing Stores	2
Motor Vehicle Towing	2
Motorcycle Dealers	1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores	1
Nail Salons	1
New Car Dealers	5
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	5
Offices of Chiropractors	3
Offices of Dentists	9
Offices of Lawyers	10
Offices of Optometrists	2
Offices of Podiatrists	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	2
Optical Goods Stores	4
Packaging and Labeling Services	1
Packing and Crating	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	5
Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	3
Photography Studios, Portrait	2
Plate Work Manufacturing	1
Private Mail Centers	1
Radio Stations	1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers	1
Remediation Services	1
Residential Property Managers	2
Residential Remodelers	5
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	2
Roofing Contractors	3
Securities Brokerage	3
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Shoe Stores	3
Site Preparation Contractors	3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	5
Special Needs Transportation	1
Sporting Goods Stores	2
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Tax Preparation Services	4
Temporary Help Services	5
Testing Laboratories	2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors	4
Tire Dealers	3
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	1
Truck Trailer Manufacturing	1
Used Car Dealers	5
Used Household and Office Goods Moving	1
Used Merchandise Stores	3
Veterinary Services	5
Video Tape and Disc Rental	4
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	3
Women's Clothing Stores	4

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Lake Wales Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Florida. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Lake Wales.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.

Naming the Business

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.

Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Lake Wales, it's critical that you ensure that no other Florida company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Lake Wales, Florida

It's very important that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Doing so will shield 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 common way to legally create a business entity. 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 Florida, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Florida. In fact, 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 are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Lake Wales, Florida, our information on Incorporating in Florida may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Florida.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

Having a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

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

Now It's Up To You

As an entrepreneur in Lake Wales, 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.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Lake Wales and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Lake Wales, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lake Wales, Florida

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

• Resources for Lake Wales, Florida Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Lake Wales entrepreneurs.
• Florida Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Florida.
• Florida Small Business Development Center - The Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDCN) is a statewide economic development partnership between higher education and other stakeholder organizations dedicated to providing entrepreneurs and established businesses with the assistance needed to start, grow and succeed, contributing to the Florida economy.
• Lake Wales, Florida Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Lake Wales, Florida newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Lake Wales area.
• Lake Wales, Florida Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Lake Wales, Florida area radio stations.

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