Iowa Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Ottumwa, Iowa

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

Ottumwa, Iowa Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1037
5-9 Employees
498
10-19 Employees
357
20-49 Employees
174
50-99 Employees
90
100-249 Employees
36
250-499 Employees
6
500-999 Employees
6
1000+ Employees
3
All Ottumwa Businesses
2207

As a new Ottumwa entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Ottumwa 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
Ambulance Services
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
5
Beauty Salons
16
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
2
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Book Stores
2
Bowling Centers
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Civic and Social Organizations
5
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Community Food Services
2
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
1
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
2
Couriers
4
Credit Unions
5
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
2
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
12
Electric Power Distribution
4
Electrical Contractors
5
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
2
Family Planning Centers
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Floor Covering Stores
3
Flooring Contractors
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing
1
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
2
Framing Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
22
Furniture Stores
2
General Automotive Repair
2
General Freight Trucking, Local
5
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Hardware Stores
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
2
Home Centers
2
Home Health Care Services
3
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Industrial Launderers
2
Investment Advice
3
Janitorial Services
7
Jewelry Stores
3
Landscaping Services
4
Limited-Service Restaurants
23
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
2
Locksmiths
2
Machine Shops
2
Mail-Order Houses
2
Masonry Contractors
2
Materials Recovery Facilities
1
Medical Laboratories
2
Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Museums
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
New Car Dealers
5
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
4
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
5
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
15
Offices of Lawyers
18
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Optical Goods Stores
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
5
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing
1
Professional Organizations
1
Quick Printing
1
Radio Stations
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Residential Remodelers
4
Roofing Contractors
1
Savings Institutions
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
4
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Shoe Stores
6
Sign Manufacturing
2
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
4
Soft Drink Manufacturing
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
5
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
2
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
1
Tire Dealers
8
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Used Merchandise Stores
4
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
5
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wet Corn Milling
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
5

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Ottumwa Business?

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

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

Selecting a Name For Your 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.

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

On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Ottumwa, it's imperative that you check now that no other Iowa company is using the business name you want to use.

Company Formation in Ottumwa, Iowa

It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporation 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 Iowa, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Iowa. 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 C Corp Versus S Corp. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Ottumwa, Iowa, our information on Incorporating in Iowa may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Iowa.

Letting the World Know You Exist

To grow your Ottumwa business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Marketing Basics discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Sell

Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Ottumwa business to do well.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

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

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Good entrepreneurs know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

With your business being located in Ottumwa, Iowa, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Iowa universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Ottumwa entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Moving Forward

Most new Ottumwa businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

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

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Ottumwa, Iowa

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

  • Resources for Ottumwa, Iowa Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Ottumwa entrepreneurs.
  • Iowa Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Iowa.
  • Iowa Small Business Development Center - The Iowa SBDC conducts research, counsels, and trains business people in management, financing, and operating small businesses. They provide comprehensive information services and access to experts in a variety of fields. This is a great resource for Iowa entrepreneurs!

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