Hawaii Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Hilo, Hawaii
Are you starting a business in Hilo, Hawaii? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Hilo.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before quitting your day job, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Hilo. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Hilo, Hawaii Demographic Information
Hilo has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Hilo demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Hilo.
Businesses
As a new Hilo entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hilo 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?
As you drive around Hilo, you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. But is franchising the right option for you?
We highly recommend you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Benefits of Owning A Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include The Pool Doctors and Dr. Vinyl and Associates, Ltd.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Bagel Franchises and Convenience Store Franchises.
Note on Hilo Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Hilo.
What About Buying an Existing Hilo Business?
We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Hawaii. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Hilo.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.
Company Formation in Hilo, Hawaii
It's very important that you form your business as a legal structure. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
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. Just because you are starting a business in Hawaii, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Hawaii. As it turns out, 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's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Company Formation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Hilo, Hawaii, our information on Incorporating in Hawaii may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Hawaii.
Ramping Up Sales
Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Hilo or are selling to customers throughout Hawaii, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Sales Training 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.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
Good entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.
With your business being located in Hilo, Hawaii, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Hawaii educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Hilo networking organizations.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Hilo. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Hilo and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Hilo entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Hilo, Hawaii
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Hilo.
- Resources for Hilo, Hawaii Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Hilo entrepreneurs.
- Hawaii Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Hawaii.
- Hawaii Small Business Development Center - The Hawaii SBDC Network provides you with the resources you need for starting a new business or expanding an existing one.
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