Starting a Business in Saint George, Utah

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

Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?

Running your own business is difficult, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you sure you want to go into business for yourself?

With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Saint George. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
• We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

What Type of Business Should You Start?

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? We recommend that you read Free Business Ideas.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Remember that starting a business in Saint George has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Saint George than others. Make sure you fully understand Saint George demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Saint George, Utah Demographic Information

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

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

As a new Saint George entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Saint George 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.

Is Franchising a Better Option?

Visit the business district of Saint George and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our recommendation is that you look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Why Franchises Fail. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Representative franchise opportunities include Subway Franchises and Starbucks Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Moving Franchises.

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

Is Buying an Existing Saint George Business a Good Strategy?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Utah. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Saint George.

If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Choosing a Company Name

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

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: Naming a Company.

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

Company Formation in Saint George, Utah

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporation 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. Just because you are starting a business in Utah, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Utah. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

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 Incorporating Online. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Saint George, Utah, our information on Incorporating in Utah may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Utah.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

Having a business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Utah.

Startup Financing Basics

Getting your Saint George business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.

For Saint George entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, you'll want to take a look at our List of Utah Angel Investors and our List of Utah Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Business

Whether your goal is to attract Saint George customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a great marketing plan.

You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. How to Get Started with Advertsing is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Selling Tips

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

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Why Salespeople Fail is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

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

Given that you are starting a business in Saint George, Utah, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Utah universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Saint George networking organizations.

Moving Forward

As an entrepreneur in Saint George, 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 Saint George and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Saint George, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Saint George, Utah

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

• Resources for Saint George, Utah Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Saint George entrepreneurs.
• Utah Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Utah.
• Utah Small Business Development Center - The Utah Small Business Development Centers will lead the way in entrepreneurial education, advocacy, and business development statewide.
• Saint George, Utah Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Saint George, Utah newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Saint George area.