Wisconsin Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Ripon, Wisconsin
Need help starting a business in Ripon, Wisconsin? We've got the information you need to open a business in Ripon.
Are You Ready for the Challenges of Being an Entrepreneur?
Before you get too far along in the process, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Ripon. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- 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. 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 to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Free Business Ideas.
To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Floats & Parade Supplies Business guide or our How to Start a Shock Absorbers & Struts Business guide.
Always keep in mind that starting a business in Ripon has some implications. If Ripon already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Study Ripon demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Ripon, Wisconsin Demographic Information
Ripon has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Ripon demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Ripon.
Businesses
As a new Ripon entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Ripon 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?
Visit the business district of Ripon and you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. But is franchising the right option for you?
Our recommendation is that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Buying a Franchise. 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.
Sample franchise opportunities include Deckare and Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Training and Education Franchises and Cell Phone Franchises.
Note on Ripon Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Ripon.
Naming the 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.
Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Ripon, it's very important that you make sure no other Wisconsin company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Ripon, Wisconsin
It's very important that you form your business as a legal structure. 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 common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Wisconsin, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Wisconsin. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Subchapter S Corporations. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Ripon, Wisconsin, our information on Incorporating in Wisconsin may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Wisconsin.
Marketing Your New Company
To rise above the crowd in Ripon and grow your business, you need a solid marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Avoiding Bad Product Launches is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Ripon. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Ripon businesses to be successful. 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 Ripon, Wisconsin
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Ripon.
- Resources for Ripon, Wisconsin Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Ripon entrepreneurs.
- Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Wisconsin.
- Wisconsin Small Business Development Center - Wisconsin Small Business Development Centers offer a variety of educational services to small-businesses. The low-cost courses, seminars, and workshops cover both basic and complex topics, from marketing to management techniques to business plan development.
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