Washington Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Coulee City, Washington

Contemplating starting a business in Coulee City, Washington? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Coulee City.

Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?

Most new ventures fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Coulee City. 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.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read 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 Opening a Boat Restoration Business guide or our Opening a Concrete Curbing Business guide.

Don't forget that starting a business in Coulee City has some implications. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Coulee City. Make sure you fully understand Coulee City demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Coulee City, Washington Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
78
5-9 Employees
18
10-19 Employees
6
20-49 Employees
3
50-99 Employees
0
100-249 Employees
0
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Coulee City Businesses
105

As a new Coulee City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Coulee City 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
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Business Associations
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Full-Service Restaurants
3
General Automotive Repair
1
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
Hardware Stores
1
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Recreational Goods Rental
1
Roofing Contractors
1
Savings Institutions
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1

Naming the Company

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.

On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Coulee City, it's imperative that you check now that no Washington company has already registered the company name you have selected.

Forming a Company in Coulee City, Washington

A critical step is ensuring that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Washington, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Washington. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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 are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Corporate Formalities. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Coulee City, Washington, our web page covering Incorporating in Washington may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Washington.

Startup Financing Basics

Obtaining startup financing for your Coulee City business is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Borrowing Money from Friends and Family.

For Coulee City entrepreneurs who need startup capital, you'll want to take a look at our List of Washington Angel Investors and our List of Washington Venture Capital Firms.

Moving Forward

Most new Coulee City businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

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

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Coulee City and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Coulee City, Washington

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Washington

Starting a Business in Connell
Starting a Business in Coupeville

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Washington
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary