Michigan Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Flint, Michigan
Are you starting a business in Flint, Michigan? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Flint.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
An entrepreneurial life is difficult, and can be orders of magnitude more strenuous than working as an employee. Are you positive 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 Flint. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Choosing the Right Company to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. 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 How to Start a Convention Security Consultants & Services Business guide or our Starting a Metal Products Business guide.
Don't forget that Flint is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in Flint than others. Study Flint demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Flint, Michigan Demographic Information
Flint has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Flint demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Flint.
Businesses
As a new Flint entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Flint 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
What About Franchising Opportunities?
Examine a list of Flint businesses and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. So, it probably makes sense for you to consider franchising too.
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as How to Get More Franchisees. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Relax The Back Corporation and City Rewards Network. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Soccer Franchises and Bakery Franchises.
Note on Flint Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Flint.
Naming the Company
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 should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.
On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Flint, it's critical that you ensure that your company name has not already been claimed by another Michigan business.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
Creating a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan
To learn more about business plans, read The Art of the Executive Summary. You should also take advantage of free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Michigan.
The Art of Selling
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Flint business, you need to focus on sales.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Selling on the Phone is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in Flint, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Flint businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Flint, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Flint, Michigan
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Flint.
- Resources for Flint, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Flint 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 Fenton
Starting a Business in Flushing
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Michigan
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs