Nebraska Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Norfolk, Nebraska

Thinking about starting a business in Norfolk, Nebraska? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Norfolk.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new ventures do not succeed, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

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 Norfolk. 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.

Norfolk, Nebraska Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
8700
5-9 Employees
4020
10-19 Employees
2820
20-49 Employees
1695
50-99 Employees
360
100-249 Employees
210
250-499 Employees
105
500-999 Employees
45
1000+ Employees
15
All Norfolk Businesses
17970

As a new Norfolk entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Norfolk 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
Ambulance Services
1
Amusement Arcades
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Architectural Services
1
Armored Car Services
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Baked Goods Stores
2
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
12
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
2
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
5
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
4
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Cafeterias
2
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
3
Charter Bus Industry
2
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
12
Civic and Social Organizations
6
Claims Adjusting
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
3
Commodity Contracts Dealing
1
Community Food Services
2
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
2
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
4
Credit Unions
2
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
3
Dental Laboratories
2
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
2
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
2
Document Preparation Services
1
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
9
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
6
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
14
Electronic Resistor Manufacturing
1
Electronic Shopping
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
3
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
6
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
6
Floor Covering Stores
4
Flooring Contractors
2
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing
1
Framing Contractors
3
Freight Transportation Arrangement
3
Full-Service Restaurants
24
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
5
General Automotive Repair
16
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
6
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
4
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Stores
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
2
Home Health Care Services
3
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
5
Industrial Building Construction
1
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
44
Iron and Steel Mills
1
Janitorial Services
6
Jewelry Stores
4
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
13
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
26
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
3
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
3
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
4
Museums
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
8
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
5
Office Administrative Services
4
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Chiropractors
6
Offices of Dentists
21
Offices of Lawyers
22
Offices of Optometrists
4
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
3
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
2
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Periodical Publishers
1
Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
4
Portfolio Management
2
Poultry Processing
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Professional Organizations
1
Quick Printing
3
Radio Stations
5
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
3
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
2
Reinsurance Carriers
1
Remediation Services
1
Rendering and Meat Byproduct Processing
1
Residential Remodelers
8
Resilient Floor Covering Manufacturing
1
Roofing Contractors
6
Sales Financing
1
Savings Institutions
4
Sawmills
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
2
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Shoe Stores
7
Siding Contractors
4
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
6
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
5
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sporting Goods Stores
5
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Taxi Service
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Shelters
2
Testing Laboratories
1
Tire Dealers
4
Tire Retreading
1
Tobacco Stores
2
Tour Operators
1
Travel Agencies
1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
7

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

As you drive around Norfolk, 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 investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising Scams. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Aaron's Sales & Leasing and Lil' Angels Photography. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Auto Repair Franchises and Print and Sign Franchises.

Note on Norfolk Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Norfolk, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Norfolk Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Nebraska. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Norfolk.

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

Choosing a Company Name

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are planning on starting a business in Norfolk, it's imperative that you check now that your company name has not already been claimed by another Nebraska business.

Letting the World Know You Exist

Whether your goal is to attract Norfolk customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your beating the competition.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Marketing Research discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Successful business owners know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Norfolk, Nebraska, you should get information on some of the many programs available at nearby Nebraska universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Norfolk entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Norfolk Entrepreneur Interviews

We're compiling a number of interviews with Norfolk entrepreneurs. Enjoy!

Next Steps

Most new Norfolk businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

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 Norfolk and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Norfolk, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Norfolk, Nebraska

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

More Business Startup Guides for Nebraska

Starting a Business in Newman Grove
Starting a Business in North Bend

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Nebraska
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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