Michigan Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Brighton, Michigan
Thinking about starting a business in Brighton, Michigan? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Brighton.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Most startup businesses fail, in part because the business owner did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Brighton. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- Peruse Why Small Businesses Fail. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
What Business Are You Starting?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Caulking Contractors Business guide or our Starting a Marble Tiles Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.
Remember that your new startup will be located in Brighton. Some businesses will do better in Brighton than others. Make sure you fully understand Brighton demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Brighton, Michigan Demographic Information
Brighton has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Brighton demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Brighton.
Businesses
As a new Brighton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Brighton 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 Franchising?
As you drive around Brighton, 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 advice is to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Multi-Unit Franchising. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include San Francisco Oven Pizza Restaurant Franchise and High Touch-High Tech. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Cartridge Recycling Franchises and Handyman Services Franchises.
Note on Brighton Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Brighton.
Company Formation in Brighton, Michigan
It's essential that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Doing so will separate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
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. Just because you are starting a business in Michigan, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Michigan. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.
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 How to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Brighton, Michigan, our information on Incorporating in Michigan may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Michigan.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Indeed, 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.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Presentations. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Michigan.
Promoting Your New Venture
To rise above the crowd in Brighton and build your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your business achieving its goals.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Customer Loyalty Programs 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 taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
What's Next?
Most new Brighton 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.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Brighton and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Brighton 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 Brighton, Michigan
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Brighton.
- Resources for Brighton, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Brighton 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.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Michigan
Starting a Business in Blissfield
Starting a Business in Brimley
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Michigan
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs