Indiana Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Portland, Indiana
Contemplating starting a business in Portland, Indiana? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Portland.
Is Becoming a Business Owner Right for You?
Most startup ventures do not succeed, in part because the founder did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Portland. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- Take a look at Business Failure. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Choosing the Right Company to Start
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. 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 Advent Christian Church guide or our How to Start a Television Rental & Leasing Business guide.
Don't forget that starting a business in Portland has some implications. If Portland already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Study Portland demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Portland, Indiana Demographic Information
Portland has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Portland demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Portland.
Businesses
As a new Portland entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Portland 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.
Businesses
Is Franchising a Better Option?
Browse the Yellow Pages for Portland and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Evidently, there must be some significant advantages to purchasing a franchise.
Our recommendation is that you look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Common Franchisee Mistakes. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Representative franchise opportunities include Nu Image MedSpa and Service-Tech Corp.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Blind Repair and Sales Franchises and Flooring Franchises.
Note on Portland Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Portland.
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Portland Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Indiana. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Portland.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Forming a Company in Portland, Indiana
A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. 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 popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Indiana, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Indiana. 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 fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Dissolving a Corporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Portland, Indiana, our information on Incorporating in Indiana may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Indiana.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
The best entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.
With your business being located in Portland, Indiana, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Indiana universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Portland networking organizations.
Moving Forward
Most new Portland businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Portland and elsewhere to achieve real success. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Portland, Indiana
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Portland.
- Resources for Portland, Indiana Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Portland entrepreneurs.
- Indiana Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Indiana.
- Indiana Small Business Development Center - The Indiana Small Business Development Center assists Indiana entrepreneurs and small businesses through one on one counseling, education and business resources.
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