Opening a Business in Lexington, Nebraska

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before you get too far along in the process, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

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

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Lexington. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

What Business to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read 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 Opening an Apartment Rental Business guide or our Opening a Golf Carts Business guide.

Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Lexington. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Lexington. Make sure you fully understand Lexington demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Lexington, Nebraska Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	9588
5-9 Employees	3111
10-19 Employees	1326
20-49 Employees	1632
50-99 Employees	204
100-249 Employees	153
250-499 Employees	51
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	51
All Lexington Businesses	16116

As a new Lexington entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lexington 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	5
Barber Shops	1
Beauty Salons	8
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	3
Bowling Centers	1
Business Associations	2
Cafeterias	1
Car Washes	2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Child and Youth Services	1
Child Day Care Services	2
Civic and Social Organizations	3
Continuing Care Retirement Communities	1
Discount Department Stores	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	1
Electrical Contractors	6
Elementary and Secondary Schools	2
Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing	1
Family Clothing Stores	3
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	2
Finish Carpentry Contractors	1
Floor Covering Stores	2
Flooring Contractors	1
Florists	2
Framing Contractors	1
Full-Service Restaurants	6
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	3
General Freight Trucking, Local	4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	1
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers	2
Hardware Stores	1
Heating Oil Dealers	1
Homes for the Elderly	2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	13
Janitorial Services	4
Jewelry Stores	1
Landscaping Services	4
Limited-Service Restaurants	12
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers	1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Masonry Contractors	2
Meat Markets	1
Medical Laboratories	1
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Museums	1
Natural Gas Distribution	1
New Car Dealers	2
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Administrative Services	1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	2
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	5
Offices of Lawyers	12
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	1
Paging	1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Photography Studios, Portrait	2
Quick Printing	1
Radio Stations	1
Rendering and Meat Byproduct Processing	2
Residential Remodelers	4
Roofing Contractors	1
Savings Institutions	4
Securities Brokerage	2
Siding Contractors	1
Sign Manufacturing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	2
Solid Waste Collection	1
Solid Waste Landfill	1
Tax Preparation Services	1
Temporary Shelters	2
Tire Dealers	3
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	1
Truss Manufacturing	1
Used Car Dealers	2
Used Merchandise Stores	4
Veterinary Services	3
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1

Have You Considered Franchising?

As you drive around Lexington, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?

Most business experts recommend that you look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising and Veterans. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Sample franchise opportunities include American Dairy Queen Corporation and Precision Door Service. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Sports Restaurant Franchises and Children Arts Programs Franchises.

Note on Lexington Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Lexington.

Company Formation in Lexington, Nebraska

It's very important 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 Nebraska, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Nebraska. 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's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as ESOP Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Lexington, Nebraska, our information on Incorporating in Nebraska may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Nebraska.

Marketing Your New Venture

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

You can learn all about marketing on our site. Viral Marketing is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

The Art of Selling

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Lexington or are selling to customers throughout Nebraska, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Selling on the Phone is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Lexington. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

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 Lexington and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Lexington entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lexington, Nebraska

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

• Resources for Lexington, Nebraska Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Lexington entrepreneurs.
• Nebraska Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Nebraska.
• Nebraska Small Business Development Center - Nebraska Small Business Development Centers provided start-up, management and technical assistance to Nebraska entrepreneurs and Nebraska small business owners from offices throughout the state.
• Lexington, Nebraska Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Lexington, Nebraska newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Lexington area.
• Lexington, Nebraska Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Lexington, Nebraska area radio stations.
• Lexington, Nebraska Payroll Services - This list includes Lexington, Nebraska payroll services, national payroll services for Lexington, and helpful information on choosing a Lexington payroll service.
• Lexington, Nebraska Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Lexington, Nebraska, such as business brokers in Lexington and other helpful information on how to buy a Lexington business.

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