Start a Business in Seaside, Oregon

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

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

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

• Speak with other entrepreneurs in Seaside. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
• You should read The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
• Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Seaside, Oregon Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1618
5-9 Employees	636
10-19 Employees	456
20-49 Employees	180
50-99 Employees	24
100-249 Employees	18
250-499 Employees	6
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Seaside Businesses	2938

As a new Seaside entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Seaside 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
Amusement Arcades	3
Art Dealers	1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	1
Baked Goods Stores	1
Beauty Salons	2
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	2
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	3
Book Stores	3
Bowling Centers	1
Business Associations	2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	2
Caterers	2
Child Day Care Services	3
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores	1
Civic and Social Organizations	4
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Confectionery and Nut Stores	3
Consumer Lending	1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities	1
Convenience Stores	1
Convention and Trade Show Organizers	1
Couriers	1
Credit Unions	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	2
Document Preparation Services	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	3
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	3
Electrical Contractors	5
Engineering Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	5
Finish Carpentry Contractors	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Floor Covering Stores	1
Flooring Contractors	2
Florists	2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Framing Contractors	1
Full-Service Restaurants	33
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	11
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	2
Graphic Design Services	1
Hardware Stores	2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	5
Homes for the Elderly	3
Household Appliance Stores	1
Industrial Design Services	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	6
Interior Design Services	2
Janitorial Services	1
Jewelry Stores	1
Land Subdivision	1
Landscaping Services	8
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	11
Linen Supply	1
Locksmiths	1
Logging	6
Marketing Consulting Services	2
Medical Laboratories	1
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Metal Household Furniture Manufacturing	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	2
Motorcycle Dealers	1
Museums	1
Navigational Services to Shipping	1
Newspaper Publishers	3
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	2
Offices of Chiropractors	5
Offices of Dentists	7
Offices of Lawyers	6
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	1
Paging	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Photography Studios, Portrait	1
Quick Printing	1
Radio Stations	2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	2
Recreational Goods Rental	1
Residential Property Managers	2
Residential Remodelers	5
Retail Bakeries	1
Roofing Contractors	1
Savings Institutions	1
Securities and Commodity Exchanges	1
Shellfish Fishing	1
Shoe Stores	3
Sign Manufacturing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	13
Software Publishers	1
Sporting Goods Stores	5
Sports and Recreation Instruction	2
Tax Preparation Services	1
Temporary Help Services	1
Tire Dealers	1
Tobacco Stores	1
Tour Operators	1
Used Car Dealers	1
Used Merchandise Stores	3
Veterinary Services	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	5
Zoos and Botanical Gardens	1

Choosing a Company Name

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.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

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 Seaside, it's critical that you ensure that no other Oregon company is using the business name you want to use.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Writing a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Oregon.

Promoting Your New Company

To rise above the crowd in Seaside and grow your business, you need a great marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Business Cards is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

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

As an entrepreneur who lives in Seaside, Oregon, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Oregon educational institutions. It's also smart to see if there are any Seaside networking organizations.

Next Steps

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

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

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

• Resources for Seaside, Oregon Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Seaside 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.
• Seaside, Oregon Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Seaside, Oregon newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Seaside area.
• Seaside, Oregon Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Seaside, Oregon area radio stations.

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