Michigan Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Alpena, Michigan
Need help starting a business in Alpena, Michigan? We've got the information you need to open a business in Alpena.
Alpena, Michigan Demographic Information
Alpena has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Alpena demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Alpena.
Businesses
As a new Alpena entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Alpena 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
Should You Franchise?
As you drive around Alpena, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
Our recommendation is that you consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Protecting Your Franchise Territory. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Stained Glass Overlay and Sylvan Learning Center. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Business Services Franchises and Child Education and Tutoring Franchises.
Note on Alpena Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Alpena.
Forming a Company in Alpena, Michigan
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The principal 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 traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating 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. If you are starting a business in Michigan, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Michigan. As it turns out, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Piercing the Corporate Veil. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Alpena, Michigan, our information on Incorporating in Michigan may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Michigan.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Getting your Alpena business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Realistic Debt Financing Options.
For Alpena entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Michigan Angel Investors and our List of Michigan Venture Capital Firms.
Promoting Your New Startup
To grow your Alpena business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Seven Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Bring in Revenues
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Alpena business to do well.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Hiring Telemarketing Firms to Generate Sales Leads is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Next Steps
Most new Alpena businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Alpena and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Alpena 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 Alpena, Michigan
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Alpena.
- Resources for Alpena, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Alpena entrepreneurs.
- Michigan Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Michigan.
- Michigan Small Business Development Center - This organization supports 12 regional offices and over 30 satellite offices, each providing counseling and training to Michigan small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the 83 counties in Michigan. Services to entrepreneurs are offered through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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