Colorado Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Carbondale, Colorado

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

Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?

Running your own business is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

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:

  • Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Carbondale. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
  • Peruse Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
  • Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

Carbondale, Colorado Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
6244
5-9 Employees
1356
10-19 Employees
732
20-49 Employees
360
50-99 Employees
84
100-249 Employees
36
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Carbondale Businesses
8812

As a new Carbondale entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Carbondale 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
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
2
Architectural Services
12
Art Dealers
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
4
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
3
Child Day Care Services
7
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
2
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
2
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
4
Couriers
1
Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying
2
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Document Preparation Services
2
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
5
Educational Support Services
1
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
4
Engineering Services
9
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Fine Arts Schools
3
Finish Carpentry Contractors
15
Floor Covering Stores
2
Flooring Contractors
5
Florists
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Framing Contractors
11
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
30
General Automotive Repair
2
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
3
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Homes for the Elderly
2
Industrial Design Services
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
5
Interior Design Services
4
Internet Service Providers
1
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
4
Land Subdivision
2
Landscape Architectural Services
4
Landscaping Services
21
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
20
Limited-Service Restaurants
6
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
2
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Meat Markets
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
5
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
7
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
6
Offices of Lawyers
7
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
4
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
20
Periodical Publishers
2
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Portfolio Management
3
Private Mail Centers
1
Public Relations Agencies
1
Quick Printing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Remodelers
19
Retail Bakeries
1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
4
Roofing Contractors
5
Savings Institutions
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Shoe Stores
1
Site Preparation Contractors
17
Skiing Facilities
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Software Publishers
1
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sporting Goods Stores
3
Temporary Help Services
3
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
7
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tour Operators
1
Travel Agencies
4
Used Merchandise Stores
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3

Should You Franchise?

As you drive around Carbondale, you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. 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 Common Franchisee Mistakes. 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 American Poolplayers Association and Unos Restaurant Corporation. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Telecommunications Franchises and IT Training Franchises.

Note on Carbondale Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Carbondale.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Raising money to fund your new Carbondale business is a difficult chore. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Bank Credit Lines.

For Carbondale entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Colorado Angel Investors and our List of Colorado Venture Capital Firms.

Letting the World Know You Exist

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

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Television Advertising Rates is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Bring in Revenues

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Carbondale business, you need to focus on sales.

Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Sales Prospecting 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.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

Successful entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Carbondale, Colorado, you should check out some of the many programs available at nearby Colorado universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any Carbondale networking organizations.

What's Next?

As an entrepreneur in Carbondale, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Carbondale and throughout the United States . 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 Carbondale, Colorado

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

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