Kansas Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Salina, Kansas

Are you starting a business in Salina, Kansas? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Salina.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

An entrepreneurial life is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Salina. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
  • Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Which Business to Choose?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at 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 an Advertising Agency guide or our Starting a Mechanical Engravers Business guide.

Remember that Salina is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in Salina than others. Study Salina demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Salina, Kansas Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
7116
5-9 Employees
2997
10-19 Employees
2115
20-49 Employees
1584
50-99 Employees
630
100-249 Employees
216
250-499 Employees
54
500-999 Employees
27
1000+ Employees
18
All Salina Businesses
14757

As a new Salina entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Salina 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
Advertising Agencies
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
5
Armored Car Services
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
13
Baked Goods Stores
1
Ball and Roller Bearing Manufacturing
1
Beauty Salons
19
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
3
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
16
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Book Stores
4
Business Associations
7
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
3
Car Washes
7
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child Day Care Services
19
Civic and Social Organizations
11
Claims Adjusting
1
Clay Refractory Manufacturing
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
4
Collection Agencies
2
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
2
Commodity Contracts Dealing
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
2
Consumer Lending
5
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
6
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Bureaus
1
Credit Unions
7
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
3
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Discount Department Stores
3
Display Advertising
1
Drafting Services
2
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
4
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
20
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
5
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
11
Environmental Consulting Services
3
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
4
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
7
Family Planning Centers
1
Fine Arts Schools
3
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
6
Floor Covering Stores
2
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
4
Flour Milling
1
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing
1
Food Service Contractors
5
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Framing Contractors
4
Freight Transportation Arrangement
2
Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Stores
7
General Automotive Repair
20
General Freight Trucking, Local
7
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
3
Grantmaking Foundations
5
Graphic Design Services
2
Hardware Stores
3
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Centers
3
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
3
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
7
Industrial Launderers
2
Industrial Sand Mining
1
Industrial Valve Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
38
Internet Service Providers
1
Investigation Services
1
Iron Foundries
1
Janitorial Services
12
Jewelry Stores
6
Junior Colleges
1
Kidney Dialysis Centers
2
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
3
Limited-Service Restaurants
47
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
5
Locksmiths
2
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Machine Shops
7
Mail-Order Houses
1
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
5
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
3
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
3
Museums
3
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
4
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
10
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Office Administrative Services
4
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
5
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
8
Offices of Chiropractors
12
Offices of Dentists
21
Offices of Optometrists
7
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Offices of Podiatrists
4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
3
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing
1
Optical Goods Stores
5
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
10
Passenger Car Leasing
1
Payroll Services
2
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
5
Portfolio Management
3
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Professional Organizations
2
Radio Stations
3
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
3
Real Estate Credit
3
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
14
Roofing Contractors
5
Sales Financing
4
Savings Institutions
3
Saw Blade and Handsaw Manufacturing
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
15
Security Guards and Patrol Services
5
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Shoe Stores
8
Siding Contractors
7
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
8
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
9
Storage Battery Manufacturing
1
Tax Preparation Services
5
Taxi Service
3
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Help Services
3
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
3
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
2
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
7
Tobacco Stores
4
Tour Operators
1
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
5
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
8
Vending Machine Operators
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
3
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
6
Wineries
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
8
Zoos and Botanical Gardens
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Salina Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Kansas. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Salina.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Selecting a Name For Your Startup

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.

Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.

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

Company Formation in Salina, Kansas

A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

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. Just because you are starting a business in Kansas, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Kansas. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as How to Incorporate. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Salina, Kansas, our information on Incorporating in Kansas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Kansas.

Next Steps

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Salina businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Salina, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Salina, Kansas

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

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