Wisconsin Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in River Falls, Wisconsin

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

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 Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 a Motorized Escort Services Business guide or our Starting a Perfumes & Colognes Retail Business guide.

Always keep in mind that starting a business in River Falls has some implications. Some businesses will do better in River Falls than others. Make sure you fully understand River Falls demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

River Falls, Wisconsin Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1608
5-9 Employees
396
10-19 Employees
384
20-49 Employees
216
50-99 Employees
78
100-249 Employees
36
250-499 Employees
6
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All River Falls Businesses
2724

As a new River Falls entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in River Falls 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
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
2
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
9
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Claims Adjusting
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Consumer Lending
1
Credit Unions
1
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
6
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Digital Printing
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
6
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Engineering Services
3
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
4
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
1
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
3
Framing Contractors
4
Full-Service Restaurants
12
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
4
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
11
Internet Service Providers
1
Investment Advice
2
Janitorial Services
4
Landscape Architectural Services
2
Landscaping Services
7
Limited-Service Restaurants
9
Machine Shops
1
Marketing Consulting Services
4
Masonry Contractors
1
Metal Household Furniture Manufacturing
1
Mineral Wool Manufacturing
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
2
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
5
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
6
Offices of Lawyers
5
Offices of Optometrists
3
Optical Goods Stores
1
Paint and Coating Manufacturing
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Residential Property Managers
3
Residential Remodelers
9
Rooming and Boarding Houses
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Shoe Stores
2
Siding Contractors
1
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Surface Active Agent Manufacturing
1
Tax Preparation Services
2
Temporary Help Services
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Used Car Dealers
1
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
5
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Wood Office Furniture Manufacturing
1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

What About Franchising Opportunities?

Visit the business district of River Falls and you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as The Franchising Process. 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 Alliance of Professionals & Consultants Inc. and Palm Beach Tan. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Environmental Testing Franchises and IT Franchises.

Note on River Falls Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in River Falls.

Selecting a Name For Your Venture

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.

Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.

On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in River Falls, it's critical that you ensure that no other Wisconsin company is using the business name you want to use.

Raising Capital for Your Venture

Getting your River Falls business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

On the bright side, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Bank Credit Lines.

For River Falls entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, you'll want to take a look at our List of Wisconsin Angel Investors and our List of Wisconsin Venture Capital Firms.

Selling Tips

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new River Falls business, you need to focus on sales.

Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

How to Build and Motivate a Sales Team is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Never Give Up

As an entrepreneur in River Falls, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in River Falls and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new River Falls 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 River Falls, Wisconsin

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Wisconsin

Starting a Business in Ripon
Starting a Business in Sauk City

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Wisconsin
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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