Minnesota Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Appleton, Minnesota

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new companies do not succeed, in part because the business owner did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary 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.

  • Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Appleton. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • Peruse Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Appleton, Minnesota Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
276
5-9 Employees
84
10-19 Employees
72
20-49 Employees
12
50-99 Employees
0
100-249 Employees
12
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Appleton Businesses
456

As a new Appleton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Appleton 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
Beauty Salons
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Crop Harvesting, Primarily by Machine
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Electrical Contractors
1
Facilities Support Services
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
2
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
2
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
3
Limited-Service Restaurants
3
Meat Markets
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Lawyers
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
1
Remediation Services
1
Shoe Stores
1
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Television Broadcasting
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1

Have You Considered Franchising?

Examine a list of Appleton businesses and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Is franchising maybe a better way for you to start your business?

Our recommendation is that you evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Multi-Unit Franchising. 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.

Sample franchise opportunities include PersoNet - The Personnel Network and Bonus Building Care. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Fitness Franchises and Mail and Shipping Services Franchises.

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

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Appleton Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Minnesota. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Appleton.

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.

Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Appleton, it's imperative that you check now that no Minnesota company has already registered the company name you have selected.

Getting the Word Out About Your New Company

To rise above the crowd in Appleton and accelerate your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your business achieving its goals.

We have some useful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Media Kits 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.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

Successful business owners recognize that they need to continually improve.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Appleton, Minnesota, you should get information on some of the learning programs at local Minnesota educational institutions. Another way to keep up on your entrepreneurial education is to investigate networking organizations for Appleton entrepreneurs.

Next Steps

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Appleton 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 Appleton, Minnesota

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Minnesota

Starting a Business in Annandale
Starting a Business in Arlington

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Minnesota
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary