Wisconsin Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

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

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
993
5-9 Employees
471
10-19 Employees
261
20-49 Employees
135
50-99 Employees
33
100-249 Employees
30
250-499 Employees
3
500-999 Employees
6
1000+ Employees
0
All Sturgeon Bay Businesses
1932

As a new Sturgeon Bay entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Sturgeon Bay 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
Architectural Services
2
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
5
Beauty Salons
9
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
3
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Boat Dealers
3
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Breweries
1
Business Associations
3
Car Washes
1
Caterers
1
Child Day Care Services
5
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coffee and Tea Manufacturing
1
Commercial Flexographic Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
2
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
1
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying
1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
15
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Electrical Contractors
5
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
6
Family Clothing Stores
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Floor Covering Stores
4
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Fruit and Vegetable Canning
1
Full-Service Restaurants
38
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
4
General Automotive Repair
6
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Hardware Stores
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
3
Ice Manufacturing
1
Industrial Launderers
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
16
Investment Advice
2
Janitorial Services
5
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing
1
Jewelry Stores
3
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
6
Linen Supply
1
Machine Shops
3
Mail-Order Houses
2
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Marinas
3
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Media Representatives
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Metal Stamping
2
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Museums
4
New Car Dealers
2
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
8
Offices of Chiropractors
6
Offices of Lawyers
10
Offices of Optometrists
3
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
4
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Optical Goods Stores
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Plate Work Manufacturing
1
Poultry Processing
1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Racetracks
1
Radio Stations
3
Real Estate Credit
2
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
4
Retail Bakeries
1
Roofing Contractors
1
Securities Brokerage
5
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
5
Ship Building and Repairing
2
Shoe Stores
1
Siding Contractors
2
Sign Manufacturing
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
6
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Testing Laboratories
2
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
2
Tire Dealers
3
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
1
Travel Agencies
3
Used Car Dealers
4
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wineries
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
2

Should You Franchise?

As you drive around Sturgeon Bay, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. So, it probably makes sense for you to consider franchising too.

Our advice is to investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Costs of Franchise Ownership. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Play It Again Sports and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Gift Items Franchises and Home Furnishings Franchises.

Note on Sturgeon Bay Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Sturgeon Bay, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Sturgeon Bay Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Wisconsin. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Sturgeon Bay.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.

Naming the Business

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.

On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Sturgeon Bay, it's imperative that you check now that you will be the only Wisconsin company using the business name you have chosen.

Forming a Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. 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.

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 Wisconsin, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Wisconsin. In fact, you are allowed to 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 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 Piercing the Corporate Veil. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, our information on Incorporating in Wisconsin may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Wisconsin.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Sturgeon Bay business is a difficult chore. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

The good news is this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled How Much Venture Capital Is There?.

For Sturgeon Bay entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Wisconsin Angel Investors and our List of Wisconsin Venture Capital Firms.

Next Steps

Most new Sturgeon Bay businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Sturgeon Bay and throughout the United States . 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 Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

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

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