Thinking about starting a business in Mountain Home, Arkansas? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Mountain Home.
Are You Ready for the Challenges of Being an Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneurial life is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you positive you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Mountain Home. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- Peruse Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
What Business Are You Starting?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read 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 Starting a Data Conversion Services & Software Business guide or our Starting a Straw Goods Business guide.
Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Mountain Home. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Mountain Home. Make sure you fully understand Mountain Home demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Mountain Home, Arkansas Demographic Information
Mountain Home has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Mountain Home demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Mountain Home.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
4374 |
| 5-9 Employees |
1842 |
| 10-19 Employees |
1107 |
| 20-49 Employees |
621 |
| 50-99 Employees |
180 |
| 100-249 Employees |
45 |
| 250-499 Employees |
9 |
| 500-999 Employees |
9 |
| 1000+ Employees |
18 |
| All Mountain Home Businesses |
8205 |
As a new Mountain Home entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Mountain Home 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 |
2 |
| Ambulance Services |
2 |
| Amusement Arcades |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
2 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
9 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
|
Beauty Salons |
14 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
4 |
| Boat Building |
1 |
| Boat Dealers |
3 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
3 |
| Building Inspection Services |
3 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
|
Cable and Other Program Distribution |
2 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
2 |
| Charter Bus Industry |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
5 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
7 |
|
Claims Adjusting |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
2 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
3 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
4 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
1 |
|
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
2 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
1 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
1 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Curtain and Drapery Mills |
2 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
6 |
|
Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
3 |
| Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying |
1 |
| Drafting Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
2 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
4 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
|
Electrical Contractors |
8 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
2 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
2 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
3 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
|
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
4 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
4 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
2 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
3 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
39 |
|
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
3 |
| Furniture Stores |
8 |
| General Automotive Repair |
16 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
2 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
|
Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
3 |
| Home Centers |
2 |
| Home Health Care Services |
1 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
4 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
24 |
|
Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
3 |
| Janitorial Services |
4 |
| Jewelry Stores |
3 |
| Land Subdivision |
4 |
| Landscaping Services |
9 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
|
Limited-Service Restaurants |
20 |
| Machine Shops |
2 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
3 |
| Marinas |
4 |
| Masonry Contractors |
2 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Mineral Wool Manufacturing |
1 |
|
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
3 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
9 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
2 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
|
Nursing Care Facilities |
4 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
4 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
10 |
| Offices of Dentists |
12 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
17 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
|
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
3 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
5 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
3 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
2 |
|
Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
5 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
1 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
3 |
| Radio Networks |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
3 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
2 |
| Real Estate Credit |
1 |
|
Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
8 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
2 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| Rooming and Boarding Houses |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
3 |
| Securities Brokerage |
9 |
| Ship Building and Repairing |
1 |
|
Shoe Stores |
2 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
6 |
| Solid Waste Landfill |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
5 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
| Telemarketing Bureaus |
1 |
|
Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Temporary Shelters |
3 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
4 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
|
Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Used Car Dealers |
7 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
6 |
| Veterinary Services |
7 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
1 |
|
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
3 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
4 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
1 |
Company Formation in Mountain Home, Arkansas
A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. 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 Arkansas, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Arkansas. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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 Offshore Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Mountain Home, Arkansas, our information on Incorporating in Arkansas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Arkansas.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Arkansas.
Marketing Your New Venture
To rise above the crowd in Mountain Home and advance your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Business Cards is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Never Give Up
As an entrepreneur in Mountain Home, 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.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Mountain Home and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Mountain Home, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Mountain Home, Arkansas
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Mountain Home.
- Resources for Mountain Home, Arkansas Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Mountain Home entrepreneurs.
- Arkansas Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Arkansas.
- Arkansas Small Business Development Center - The Arkansas Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) is a University-based economic development program which provides assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout Arkansas via a statewide network of seven offices.
- Mountain Home, Arkansas Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Mountain Home, Arkansas newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Mountain Home area.
- Mountain Home, Arkansas Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Mountain Home, Arkansas area radio stations.
- Mountain Home, Arkansas Payroll Services - This list includes Mountain Home, Arkansas payroll services, national payroll services for Mountain Home, and helpful information on choosing a Mountain Home payroll service.
- Mountain Home, Arkansas Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Mountain Home, Arkansas, such as business brokers in Mountain Home and other helpful information on how to buy a Mountain Home business.
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