Tennessee Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Lafayette, Tennessee
Are you starting a business in Lafayette, Tennessee? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Lafayette.
Lafayette, Tennessee 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
Have You Considered Franchising?
As you drive around Lafayette, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?
Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising Pros and Cons. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Wood Re New and Haircolorxperts. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Textile Repair 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
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.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Lafayette, it's imperative that you check now that no other Tennessee company is using the business name you want to use.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, 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 Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Tennessee.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Getting your Lafayette business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising money, such as Angel Investors.
For Lafayette entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, we have assembled a List of Tennessee Angel Investors and our List of Tennessee Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Startup
Whether your goal is to attract Lafayette customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Effective Direct Mail Campaigns discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Moving Forward
Most new Lafayette businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Lafayette and throughout the United States . 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, Tennessee
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Lafayette.
- Resources for Lafayette, Tennessee Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Lafayette entrepreneurs.
- Tennessee Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Tennessee.
- Tennessee Small Business Development Center - If you are a small business owner, entrepreneur or you are thinking about starting a new business, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) is ready to help you every step of the way!
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