Are you starting a business in Valley City, North Dakota? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Valley City.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
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 Valley City. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- You should read Starting a Company. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Talk it over with a close friend or partner. 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.
Valley City, North Dakota Demographic Information
Valley City has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Valley City demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Valley City.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1014 |
| 5-9 Employees |
402 |
| 10-19 Employees |
276 |
| 20-49 Employees |
216 |
| 50-99 Employees |
54 |
| 100-249 Employees |
30 |
| 250-499 Employees |
0 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Valley City Businesses |
1992 |
As a new Valley City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Valley 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.
| Business Type |
# of
Businesses |
|
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
4 |
| Beauty Salons |
6 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
3 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Business and Secretarial Schools |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
|
Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
4 |
| Charter Bus Industry |
2 |
| Child Day Care Services |
3 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
4 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
|
Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
4 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
5 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
|
Engineering Services |
1 |
| Farm Product Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
1 |
| Flooring Contractors |
2 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
|
Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
10 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
1 |
| General Automotive Repair |
2 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
2 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
|
Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Historical Sites |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Industrial Building Construction |
1 |
| Industrial Mold Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
7 |
|
Internet Service Providers |
2 |
| Janitorial Services |
4 |
| Landscaping Services |
2 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
7 |
| Livestock Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
2 |
|
Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
3 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
3 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
5 |
| Offices of Dentists |
3 |
|
Offices of Lawyers |
5 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
5 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas |
1 |
| Plastics Bottle Manufacturing |
1 |
| Professional Organizations |
2 |
| Radio Networks |
1 |
|
Radio Stations |
2 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
2 |
| Residential Remodelers |
3 |
| Roofing Contractors |
3 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
2 |
| Securities Brokerage |
3 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
|
Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
1 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
1 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
1 |
|
Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
1 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
3 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
1 |
Selecting a Name For Your Venture
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.
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: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Valley City, it's very important that you make sure no North Dakota company has already registered the company name you have selected.
Startup Financing Basics
Obtaining startup financing for your Valley City business is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.
For Valley City entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of North Dakota Angel Investors and our List of North Dakota Venture Capital Firms.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Venture
Whether your goal is to attract Valley City customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a solid marketing plan.
You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Business Logo Design is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
Good business owners know that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Valley City, North Dakota, you should check out some of the learning programs at local North Dakota educational institutions. Another way to keep up on your entrepreneurial education is to investigate Valley City networking organizations.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Valley City. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Valley City businesses to be successful. 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 Valley City, North Dakota
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Valley City.
- Resources for Valley City, North Dakota Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Valley City entrepreneurs.
- North Dakota Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in North Dakota.
- North Dakota Small Business Development Center - The North Dakota Small Business Development Center's mission is to provide high quality business assistance in the form of counseling, training, and research to existing and prospective North Dakota small businesses.
- Valley City, North Dakota Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Valley City, North Dakota newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Valley City area.
- Valley City, North Dakota Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Valley City, North Dakota area radio stations.
- Valley City, North Dakota Payroll Services - This list includes Valley City, North Dakota payroll services, national payroll services for Valley City, and helpful information on choosing a Valley City payroll service.
- Valley City, North Dakota Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Valley City, North Dakota, such as business brokers in Valley City and other helpful information on how to buy a Valley City business.
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