Open a Business in Maple Valley, Washington

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

An entrepreneurial life is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure 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 Maple Valley. 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.

Maple Valley, Washington Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1023
5-9 Employees	300
10-19 Employees	150
20-49 Employees	75
50-99 Employees	24
100-249 Employees	9
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Maple Valley Businesses	1581

As a new Maple Valley entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Maple Valley 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
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	4
Automotive Transmission Repair	1
Baked Goods Stores	2
Beauty Salons	4
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	2
Building Inspection Services	2
Business Associations	1
Car Washes	1
Caterers	1
Child Day Care Services	5
Claims Adjusting	1
Community Food Services	1
Computer and Software Stores	1
Computer Facilities Management Services	1
Computer Systems Design Services	6
Computer Training	1
Construction Machinery Manufacturing	1
Credit Unions	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	3
Dance Companies	1
Dental Laboratories	1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers	1
Drafting Services	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	2
Electrical Contractors	16
Electronic Shopping	1
Engineering Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	1
Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders	1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	1
Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing	1
Fine Arts Schools	2
Finfish Fishing	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	4
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	7
Flooring Contractors	1
Florists	1
Framing Contractors	7
Full-Service Restaurants	17
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	6
General Freight Trucking, Local	2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	2
Grantmaking Foundations	1
Hardware Stores	1
Heating Oil Dealers	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	1
Home Health Care Services	2
Homes for the Elderly	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	7
Investment Advice	1
Janitorial Services	6
Land Subdivision	2
Landscape Architectural Services	1
Landscaping Services	25
Limited-Service Restaurants	11
Logging	1
Machine Shops	2
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Masonry Contractors	8
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing	1
Miscellaneous Intermediation	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	2
Motor Vehicle Towing	3
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores	2
New Housing Operative Builders	3
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Offices of Chiropractors	4
Offices of Dentists	7
Offices of Lawyers	3
Offices of Optometrists	2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	3
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	8
Payroll Services	1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing	1
Private Mail Centers	1
Professional Employer Organizations	1
Real Estate Credit	4
Real Estate Investment Trusts	1
Remediation Services	2
Residential Property Managers	2
Residential Remodelers	9
Roofing Contractors	4
Savings Institutions	1
Securities Brokerage	2
Shellfish Fishing	1
Siding Contractors	2
Site Preparation Contractors	10
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	9
Software Publishers	2
Solid Waste Collection	1
Sporting Goods Stores	2
Sports and Recreation Instruction	2
Temporary Help Services	2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors	4
Tire Dealers	2
Travel Agencies	1
Used Merchandise Stores	1
Veterinary Services	4
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Maple Valley Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Washington. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Maple Valley.

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

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.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.

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

Startup Financing Basics

Getting your Maple Valley business the capital it needs to succeed 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 Maple Valley entrepreneurs who need startup capital, you'll want to take a look at our List of Washington Angel Investors and our List of Washington Venture Capital Firms.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Maple Valley, Washington, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Washington universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also smart to see if there are any Maple Valley networking organizations.

Now It's Up To You

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

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

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Maple Valley, Washington

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

• Resources for Maple Valley, Washington Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Maple Valley entrepreneurs.
• Washington Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Washington.
• Washington Small Business Development Center - Washington Small Business Development Centers promote economic vitality by providing advice, training and research to Washington entrepreneurs and existing Washington businesses.
• Maple Valley, Washington Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Maple Valley, Washington newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Maple Valley area.

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