Indiana Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Bloomington, Indiana
Thinking about starting a business in Bloomington, Indiana? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Bloomington.
Is Becoming a Business Owner Right for You?
Before quitting your day job, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
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 Bloomington. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- 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. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Bloomington, Indiana Demographic Information
Bloomington has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Bloomington demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Bloomington.
Businesses
As a new Bloomington entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bloomington 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
Picking a Business Name
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Bloomington, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another Indiana business.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Raising money to fund your new Bloomington business is a difficult chore. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.
For Bloomington entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Indiana Angel Investors and our List of Indiana Venture Capital Firms.
Building Up Your Sales
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Bloomington or are selling to customers throughout Indiana, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
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.
Mastering the Complex Sale is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
Good business owners recognize that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Bloomington, Indiana, you should investigate some of the learning programs at local Indiana educational institutions. You should also check if there are any Bloomington networking organizations.
Moving Forward
You have a dream -- starting a business in Bloomington. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Bloomington businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Bloomington, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Bloomington, Indiana
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Bloomington.
- Resources for Bloomington, Indiana Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bloomington entrepreneurs.
- Indiana Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Indiana.
- Indiana Small Business Development Center - The Indiana Small Business Development Center assists Indiana entrepreneurs and small businesses through one on one counseling, education and business resources.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Indiana
Starting a Business in Bloomfield
Starting a Business in Bluffton
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Starting a Business Guides for Other States
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