North Dakota Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Williston, North Dakota

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

Williston, North Dakota Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
5995
5-9 Employees
2535
10-19 Employees
1170
20-49 Employees
870
50-99 Employees
150
100-249 Employees
75
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
15
1000+ Employees
0
All Williston Businesses
10810

As a new Williston entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Williston 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 Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
7
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
2
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
12
Civic and Social Organizations
9
Claims Adjusting
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
3
Computer and Software Stores
1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Consumer Lending
1
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Couriers
4
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells
5
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
15
Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
2
Electrical Contractors
12
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Engineering Services
4
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
2
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
4
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Flight Training
1
Floor Covering Stores
5
Florists
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Framing Contractors
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
4
General Automotive Repair
7
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
4
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Hardware Stores
2
Household Appliance Stores
3
Industrial Launderers
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
13
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
4
Landscaping Services
3
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
3
Limited-Service Restaurants
13
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
2
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
3
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
1
Media Representatives
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
3
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Natural Gas Distribution
2
New Car Dealers
4
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
3
Offices of Dentists
12
Offices of Lawyers
12
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Passenger Car Rental
1
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
5
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Recreational Goods Rental
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Retail Bakeries
1
Roofing Contractors
2
Rooming and Boarding Houses
1
Savings Institutions
1
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
5
Septic Tank and Related Services
2
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
6
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Taxi Service
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Television Broadcasting
2
Temporary Help Services
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
2
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
3
Travel Agencies
4
Truss Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
4
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Veterinary Services
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
5

What About Franchising Opportunities?

Examine a list of Williston businesses and you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. But is franchising the right option for you?

Most business experts recommend that you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as The Franchising Process. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

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

Sample franchise opportunities include Ice Cold Air and Miracle Method Surface Restoration. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Embroidery Franchises and Pet Franchises.

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

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Williston Business?

We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in North Dakota. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Williston.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Forming a Company in Williston, North Dakota

A critical step is ensuring that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. 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. If you are starting a business in North Dakota, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in North Dakota. In fact, you are allowed to 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 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 How to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Williston, North Dakota, our information on Incorporating in North Dakota may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Dakota.

Promoting Your New Business

To grow your Williston business, you need a solid marketing plan.

We have some great resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. PR Versus Advertising is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Good entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

With your business being located in Williston, North Dakota, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby North Dakota universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also wise to see if there are any Williston networking organizations.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Williston. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Williston 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 Williston, North Dakota

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

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