Louisiana Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Are you starting a business in Baton Rouge, Louisiana? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Baton Rouge.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
An entrepreneurial life is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you positive you want to start a business?
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Baton Rouge. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Demographic Information
Baton Rouge has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Baton Rouge demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Baton Rouge.
Businesses
As a new Baton Rouge entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Baton Rouge 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
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Baton Rouge Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Louisiana. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Baton Rouge.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Company Formation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
A critical step is ensuring that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your 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. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Louisiana, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Louisiana. In fact, you are allowed to 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's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe 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 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, our information on Incorporating in Louisiana may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Louisiana.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
A business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Louisiana.
The Art of Selling
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Baton Rouge business, you need to focus on sales.
Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
How to Build and Motivate a Sales Team is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
Good entrepreneurs know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.
With your business being located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Louisiana educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Baton Rouge entrepreneurs.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Baton Rouge, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Baton Rouge 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 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Baton Rouge.
- Resources for Baton Rouge, Louisiana Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Baton Rouge entrepreneurs.
- Louisiana Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Louisiana.
- Louisiana Small Business Development Center - The Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC Network) provides low- or no-cost guidance and training for small business owners and potential owners.
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