Oklahoma Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Shawnee, Oklahoma

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

What Business Are You Starting?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Good 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 Opening a Mutual Funds & Brokers Business guide or our How to Start a Retirement Housing Business guide.

Don't forget that you are opening your new business in Shawnee. If Shawnee already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Only by spending some time analyzing Shawnee demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Shawnee, Oklahoma Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
4683
5-9 Employees
1962
10-19 Employees
1323
20-49 Employees
846
50-99 Employees
324
100-249 Employees
117
250-499 Employees
45
500-999 Employees
27
1000+ Employees
0
All Shawnee Businesses
9327

As a new Shawnee entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Shawnee 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
Ambulance Services
1
Amusement Arcades
2
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
2
Architectural Services
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
5
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Book Stores
3
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
3
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
1
Casino Hotels
1
Caterers
1
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
13
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Community Food Services
2
Computer and Software Stores
3
Computer Systems Design Services
2
Consumer Lending
14
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
3
Convenience Stores
3
Copper Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
3
Couriers
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
2
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Dance Companies
1
Dental Laboratories
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells
4
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Educational Support Services
2
Electrical Contractors
14
Electronic Shopping
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
5
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
3
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
6
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Floor Covering Stores
3
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
3
Flour Milling
1
Food Service Contractors
3
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
2
Framing Contractors
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
30
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
General Automotive Repair
12
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
3
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
7
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Home Centers
3
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
9
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Launderers
1
Janitorial Services
5
Jewelry Stores
7
Kidney Dialysis Centers
2
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
10
Language Schools
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
3
Mail-Order Houses
1
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Museums
1
Natural Gas Distribution
3
Natural Gas Liquid Extraction
1
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
4
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Dentists
17
Offices of Lawyers
37
Offices of Optometrists
4
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
4
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Paging
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
5
Payroll Services
2
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Portfolio Management
4
Private Mail Centers
2
Professional Employer Organizations
2
Professional Organizations
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
4
Roofing Contractors
1
Savings Institutions
2
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
2
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
6
Siding Contractors
1
Sign Manufacturing
2
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Software Publishers
1
Solid Waste Collection
2
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Sporting Goods Stores
5
Sports and Recreation Instruction
2
Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply
1
Tax Preparation Services
4
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Temporary Help Services
3
Temporary Shelters
2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
2
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
3
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
9
Used Merchandise Stores
10
Veterinary Services
5
Video Tape and Disc Rental
5
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
4
Women's Clothing Stores
7

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.

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

Forming a Company in Shawnee, Oklahoma

It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The biggest 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 corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

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 Oklahoma, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Oklahoma. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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 are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Offshore Company Formation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Shawnee, Oklahoma, our information on Incorporating in Oklahoma may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Oklahoma.

The Role of the Business Plan

Writing a business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Reasons to Write a Business Plan. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Oklahoma.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Good entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.

With your business being located in Shawnee, Oklahoma, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Oklahoma educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Shawnee entrepreneurs.

Next Steps

As an entrepreneur in Shawnee, 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 Shawnee and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Shawnee 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 Shawnee, Oklahoma

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

More Business Startup Guides for Oklahoma

Starting a Business in Shattuck
Starting a Business in Shidler

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