Florida Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Live Oak, Florida

Need help starting a business in Live Oak, Florida? We've got the information you need to open a business in Live Oak.

Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?

Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Live Oak. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
  • We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.

Live Oak, Florida Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3440
5-9 Employees
1148
10-19 Employees
804
20-49 Employees
348
50-99 Employees
144
100-249 Employees
60
250-499 Employees
12
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
12
All Live Oak Businesses
5968

As a new Live Oak entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Live Oak 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
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
3
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Consumer Lending
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
3
Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying
1
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
4
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
8
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Florists
4
Food Service Contractors
2
Framing Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
13
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
4
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Home Centers
2
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
2
Household Appliance Stores
1
Human Rights Organizations
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
10
Internet Service Providers
1
Janitorial Services
1
Jewelry Stores
3
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Landscaping Services
9
Limited-Service Restaurants
12
Logging
2
Machine Shops
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
5
Marketing Consulting Services
2
Masonry Contractors
3
Materials Recovery Facilities
1
Meat Markets
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Museums
1
New Car Dealers
6
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
6
Offices of Lawyers
7
Offices of Optometrists
3
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Poultry Processing
1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Recreational Goods Rental
1
Residential Remodelers
8
Roofing Contractors
1
Savings Institutions
1
Securities Brokerage
2
Shoe Stores
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Special Needs Transportation
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
2
Timber Tract Operations
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Used Car Dealers
6
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Veterinary Services
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Live Oak Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Florida. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Live Oak.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Forming a Company in Live Oak, Florida

It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

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

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Florida, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Florida. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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 should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Live Oak, Florida, our information on Incorporating in Florida may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Florida.

The Role of the Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Florida.

Raising Money for Your Startup

Getting your Live Oak business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Business Credit Evaluation.

For Live Oak entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Florida Angel Investors and our List of Florida Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Startup

To rise above the crowd in Live Oak and grow your business, you need a solid marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Creating a Web Presence is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Never Give Up

You have a dream -- starting a business in Live Oak. 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 Live Oak and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Live Oak 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 Live Oak, Florida

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

  • Resources for Live Oak, Florida Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Live Oak entrepreneurs.
  • Florida Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Florida.
  • Florida Small Business Development Center - The Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDCN) is a statewide economic development partnership between higher education and other stakeholder organizations dedicated to providing entrepreneurs and established businesses with the assistance needed to start, grow and succeed, contributing to the Florida economy.

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Florida

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Starting a Business in Longboat Key

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