Starting a Business in Saint Helens, Oregon

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

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Most new companies don't make it, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

• Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Saint Helens. 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.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.

If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse 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.

Always keep in mind that you are opening your new business in Saint Helens. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Saint Helens. Study Saint Helens demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Saint Helens, Oregon Demographic Information

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

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

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

As you drive around Saint Helens, 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.

We highly recommend you investigate buying a franchise. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Benefits of Owning A Franchise. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.

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

Note on Saint Helens Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Saint Helens, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

What About Buying an Existing Saint Helens Business?

We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Oregon. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Saint Helens.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.

Naming the Company

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

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.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Saint Helens, it's imperative that you check now that you will be the only Oregon company using the business name you have chosen.

Forming a Company in Saint Helens, Oregon

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.

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 Oregon, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Oregon. As it turns out, you are allowed to 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 fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Pre-Incorporation Agreements. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Saint Helens, Oregon, our information on Incorporating in Oregon may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Oregon.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Outsourcing. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Oregon.

Startup Financing Basics

Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Saint Helens business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Find Start-Up Capital.

For Saint Helens entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of Oregon Angel Investors and our List of Oregon Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

To grow your Saint Helens business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Phone Book Advertising Costs discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

The Art of Selling

Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Saint Helens business to do well.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

The Art of Customer Referrals is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Successful business owners recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Saint Helens, Oregon, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Oregon educational institutions. We also recommend you look into networking organizations for Saint Helens entrepreneurs.

What's Next?

Most new Saint Helens businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Saint Helens and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Saint Helens 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 Saint Helens, Oregon

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

• Resources for Saint Helens, Oregon Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Saint Helens entrepreneurs.
• Oregon Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Oregon.
• Oregon Small Business Development Center - Oregon Small Business Development Centers use a client-centered approach to deliver counseling, training, information and technical assistance in all aspects of small business management. There is no fee for their assistance.
• Saint Helens, Oregon Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Saint Helens, Oregon newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Saint Helens area.