Illinois Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Alton, Illinois
Thinking about starting a business in Alton, Illinois? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Alton.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Most new ventures don't make it, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
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 Alton. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- You should read The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. 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.
Alton, Illinois Demographic Information
Alton has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Alton demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Alton.
Businesses
As a new Alton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Alton 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
What About Franchising Opportunities?
As you drive around Alton, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
Most business experts recommend that you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Before Buying a Franchise. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Representative franchise opportunities include Mr. Goodcents Subs & Pastas and Erik's DeliCafe Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Training and Education Franchises and Cell Phone Franchises.
Note on Alton Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Alton, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Alton Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Illinois. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Alton.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Marketing Your New Startup
Whether your goal is to attract Alton customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Working with an Advertising Agency discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
The Art of Selling
Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Alton business to do well.
Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Hiring Good Sales People offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities
The best entrepreneurs know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Alton, Illinois, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Illinois universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Alton networking organizations.
Now It's Up To You
Most new Alton businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Alton 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 Alton, Illinois
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Alton.
- Resources for Alton, Illinois Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Alton entrepreneurs.
- Illinois Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Illinois.
- Illinois Small Business Development Center - Illinois Small Business Development Centers located throughout the state provide assistance to new and existing small businesses.
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