Open a Business in Scappoose, Oregon

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

Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?

Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

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 Scappoose. 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.

Scappoose, Oregon Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	391
5-9 Employees	135
10-19 Employees	72
20-49 Employees	57
50-99 Employees	6
100-249 Employees	0
250-499 Employees	3
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Scappoose Businesses	664

As a new Scappoose entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Scappoose 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
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	2
Barber Shops	2
Beauty Salons	4
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Claims Adjusting	1
Computer and Software Stores	1
Concrete Pipe Manufacturing	1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining	1
Convenience Stores	1
Credit Unions	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	2
Electrical Contractors	2
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Engineering Services	3
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Flooring Contractors	3
Framing Contractors	1
Full-Service Restaurants	9
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	2
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
Graphic Design Services	1
Homes for the Elderly	2
Human Rights Organizations	2
Institutional Furniture Manufacturing	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	1
Internet Service Providers	1
Janitorial Services	3
Jewelry Stores	1
Land Subdivision	2
Landscaping Services	3
Limited-Service Restaurants	8
Machine Shops	1
Marinas	3
Marine Cargo Handling	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	3
Motor Vehicle Towing	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	4
Offices of Lawyers	2
Offices of Optometrists	2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	1
Periodical Publishers	1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Roofing Contractors	1
Savings Institutions	1
School and Employee Bus Transportation	1
Securities Brokerage	1
Sign Manufacturing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	2
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Support Activities for Forestry	1
Tax Preparation Services	2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors	1
Tire Dealers	1
Tobacco Stores	1
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing	1
Used Car Dealers	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing	1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing	1

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

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Scappoose, it's very important that you make sure no other Oregon company is using the business name you want to use.

Company Formation in Scappoose, Oregon

A critical step is ensuring that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Doing so will shield 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 popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Oregon, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Oregon. As it turns out, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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 Dissolving a Corporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Scappoose, Oregon, our information on Incorporating in Oregon may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Oregon.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Reasons to Write a Business Plan. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Oregon.

Marketing Your New Company

To grow your Scappoose business, you need a solid marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Transit Advertising is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Sell

Being able to sell is fundamental to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Scappoose or are selling to customers throughout Oregon, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

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.

Good Sales Strategies is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

Moving Forward

You have a dream -- starting a business in Scappoose. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

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

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

• Resources for Scappoose, Oregon Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Scappoose 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.
• Scappoose, Oregon Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Scappoose, Oregon newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Scappoose area.

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