Indiana Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Lafayette, Indiana
Are you starting a business in Lafayette, Indiana? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Lafayette.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at 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 Starting a Boiler Dealers Business guide or our Opening a Televisions Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.
Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Lafayette. Some businesses will do better in Lafayette than others. A critical consideration is whether Lafayette demographics mesh well with your startup concept.
Lafayette, Indiana Demographic Information
Lafayette has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Lafayette demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Lafayette.
Businesses
As a new Lafayette entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lafayette 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
Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?
As you drive around Lafayette, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Is it perhaps smarter to franchise a business instead of doing it from scratch.
Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Buying a Franchise. 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 Perkins Restaurant & Bakery and Bark Busters. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Business Services Franchises and Child Education and Tutoring Franchises.
Note on Lafayette Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Lafayette.
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.
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.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Lafayette, it's very important that you make sure no Indiana company has already registered the company name you have selected.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Software. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Indiana.
Ramping Up Sales
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Lafayette or are selling to customers throughout Indiana, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
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.
Closing Sales Techniques 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.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
With your business being located in Lafayette, Indiana, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby Indiana universities, colleges and community colleges. Another way to keep up on your learning is to investigate networking groups or organizations in which Lafayette entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Lafayette. 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.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Lafayette and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Lafayette, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lafayette, Indiana
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Lafayette.
- Resources for Lafayette, Indiana Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Lafayette entrepreneurs.
- Indiana Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Indiana.
- Indiana Small Business Development Center - The Indiana Small Business Development Center assists Indiana entrepreneurs and small businesses through one on one counseling, education and business resources.
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