Iowa Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Story City, Iowa
Are you starting a business in Story City, Iowa? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Story City.
Do You Have What It Takes?
An entrepreneurial life is hard work, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain 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.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Story City. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.
Story City, Iowa Demographic Information
Story City has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Story City demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Story City.
Businesses
As a new Story City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Story City 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.
Businesses
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.
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.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Story City, it's critical that you ensure that no other Iowa company is using the business name you want to use.
Company Formation in Story City, Iowa
It's essential that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. 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.
Incorporation is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Iowa, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Iowa. In fact, you can 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'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 Registered Agents. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Story City, Iowa, our information on Incorporating in Iowa may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Iowa.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
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 Iowa.
Promoting Your New Business
Whether your goal is to attract Story City customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a great marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Typical Direct Mail Response Rates is an article that will stimulate 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
Good entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Story City, Iowa, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Iowa educational institutions. It's also wise to see if there are any Story City networking organizations.
Now It's Up To You
As an entrepreneur in Story City, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Story City and elsewhere to achieve real success. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Story City, Iowa
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Story City.
- Resources for Story City, Iowa Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Story City entrepreneurs.
- Iowa Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Iowa.
- Iowa Small Business Development Center - The Iowa SBDC conducts research, counsels, and trains business people in management, financing, and operating small businesses. They provide comprehensive information services and access to experts in a variety of fields. This is a great resource for Iowa entrepreneurs!
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