Washington Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Puyallup, Washington
Thinking about starting a business in Puyallup, Washington? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Puyallup.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Most startup ventures fail, in part because the founder did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Puyallup. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- Take a look at The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Puyallup, Washington Demographic Information
Puyallup has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Puyallup demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Puyallup.
Businesses
As a new Puyallup entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Puyallup 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
Should You Franchise?
As you drive around Puyallup, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Is it perhaps smarter to franchise a business instead of doing it from scratch.
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Buying an Existing Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Representative franchise opportunities include Park Plaza Hotels and Resorts and Candy Bouquet. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Business Services Franchises and Pet Franchises.
Note on Puyallup Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Puyallup.
Forming a Company in Puyallup, Washington
It's very important 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.
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. If you are starting a business in Washington, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Washington. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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 basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Where to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Puyallup, Washington, our information on Incorporating in Washington may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Washington.
Marketing Your New Company
To grow your Puyallup business, you need a excellent marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Advertising in Magazines 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.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
Good entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
With your business being located in Puyallup, Washington, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Washington universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Puyallup entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
What's Next?
Most new Puyallup businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Puyallup businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Puyallup 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 Puyallup, Washington
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Puyallup.
- Resources for Puyallup, Washington Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Puyallup 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.
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