Arkansas Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Gurdon, Arkansas

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

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? We recommend that you read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Lamp Shades Cleaning, Repairing, & Recovering Business guide or our Starting a Vocal Music School guide.

Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in Gurdon. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Gurdon. Study Gurdon demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Gurdon, Arkansas Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
102
5-9 Employees
33
10-19 Employees
30
20-49 Employees
9
50-99 Employees
3
100-249 Employees
0
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
0
All Gurdon Businesses
180

As a new Gurdon entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Gurdon 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
Child Day Care Services
1
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Convenience Stores
1
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
General Automotive Repair
3
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Stores
2
Interior Design Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
1
Logging
9
Machine Shops
1
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1

Forming a Company in Gurdon, Arkansas

It's very important that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporation 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. If you are starting a business in Arkansas, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Arkansas. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

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 Gurdon, Arkansas, our web page covering Incorporating in Arkansas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Arkansas.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Writing a business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Expert Advice on Business Plans. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Arkansas.

Startup Financing Basics

Raising money to fund your new Gurdon 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 504 Loans.

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

Promoting Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract Gurdon customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your beating the competition.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Technology Marketing is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Sell

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Gurdon or are selling to customers throughout Arkansas, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Sales Prospecting is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Gurdon. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

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 Gurdon 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 Gurdon, Arkansas

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

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