Iowa Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Lime Springs, Iowa

Are you starting a business in Lime Springs, Iowa? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Lime Springs.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before you get too far along in the process, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

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:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Lime Springs. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

What Business to Start

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading 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 Sandblasting Equipment & Supplies Business guide or our Starting a Stair Resurfacing Business guide.

Don't forget that you are starting a business in Lime Springs. Some businesses will do better in Lime Springs than others. Don't forget to review Lime Springs demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Lime Springs, Iowa Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
51
5-9 Employees
18
10-19 Employees
15
20-49 Employees
0
50-99 Employees
0
100-249 Employees
0
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Lime Springs Businesses
84

As a new Lime Springs entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lime Springs 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
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Framing Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
1
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
Hardware Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
1

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.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Lime Springs, it's very important that you make sure no other Iowa company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Lime Springs, Iowa

It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Iowa, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Iowa. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate in any state you would like to. 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 LLC Advantages. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Lime Springs, Iowa, our information on Incorporating in Iowa may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Iowa.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Getting your Lime Springs business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising money, such as SBIR Funding.

For Lime Springs entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Iowa Angel Investors and our List of Iowa Venture Capital Firms.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

The best entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Lime Springs, Iowa, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Iowa universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Lime Springs entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Lime Springs and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Lime Springs, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lime Springs, Iowa

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

  • Resources for Lime Springs, Iowa Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Lime Springs entrepreneurs.
  • Iowa Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Iowa.
  • Iowa Small Business Development Center - The Iowa SBDC conducts research, counsels, and trains business people in management, financing, and operating small businesses. They provide comprehensive information services and access to experts in a variety of fields. This is a great resource for Iowa entrepreneurs!

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