Ohio Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Cincinnati, Ohio
Thinking about starting a business in Cincinnati, Ohio? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Cincinnati.
What Business Are You Starting?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read Finding Your Niche in Life.
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 How to Start an Aerial Advertising Business guide or our Opening a Precast Concrete Business guide.
Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in Cincinnati. Some businesses will do better in Cincinnati than others. Make sure you fully understand Cincinnati demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Cincinnati, Ohio Demographic Information
Cincinnati has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Cincinnati demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Cincinnati.
Businesses
As a new Cincinnati entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Cincinnati 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?
Browse the Yellow Pages for Cincinnati and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Franchise Due Diligence. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.
Representative franchise opportunities include National Home Buyers Assistance and Lighthouse Landscape Lighting. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Security Franchises and Coffee Shop Franchises.
Note on Cincinnati Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Cincinnati.
Company Formation in Cincinnati, Ohio
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
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. 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 Ohio, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Ohio. As it turns out, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as C Corp Versus S Corp. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Cincinnati, Ohio, our information on Incorporating in Ohio may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Ohio.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Cincinnati business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Incubators.
For Cincinnati entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Ohio Angel Investors and our List of Ohio Venture Capital Firms.
How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities
Good entrepreneurs know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.
Given that you are starting a business in Cincinnati, Ohio, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Ohio universities, colleges and community colleges. We also recommend you look into networking organizations for Cincinnati entrepreneurs.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Cincinnati. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Cincinnati and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Cincinnati, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Cincinnati, Ohio
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Cincinnati.
- Resources for Cincinnati, Ohio Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Cincinnati entrepreneurs.
- Ohio Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Ohio.
- Ohio Small Business Development Center - Whether you're starting your business, expanding your business, or just looking to stay in business, the Small Business Development Centers of Ohio (SBDCs of Ohio) can help with professional guidance by connecting you with research, financing sources, and training opportunities.
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