Minnesota Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Northfield, Minnesota
Are you starting a business in Northfield, Minnesota? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Northfield.
Is Becoming a Business Owner Right for You?
Before you get too far along in the process, consider 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 Northfield. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- 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. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Northfield, Minnesota Demographic Information
Northfield has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Northfield demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Northfield.
Businesses
As a new Northfield entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Northfield 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
Forming a Company in Northfield, Minnesota
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will separate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in Minnesota, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Minnesota. 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 Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Northfield, Minnesota, our web page covering Incorporating in Minnesota may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Minnesota.
The Role of the Business Plan
Creating a business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan
To learn more about business plans, read The Art of the Executive Summary. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Minnesota.
Raising Capital for Your Venture
Raising money to fund your new Northfield business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Choosing VC Firms.
For Northfield entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, you'll want to take a look at our List of Minnesota Angel Investors and our List of Minnesota Venture Capital Firms.
Selling Tips
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Northfield or are selling to customers throughout Minnesota, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Writing Great Proposals offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Moving Forward
You have a dream -- starting a business in Northfield. 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 Northfield and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Northfield 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 Northfield, Minnesota
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Northfield.
- Resources for Northfield, Minnesota Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Northfield entrepreneurs.
- Minnesota Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Minnesota.
- Minnesota Small Business Development Center - The Minnesota Small Business Development Centers provide no-cost, professional business consulting to Minnesota small businesses covering a variety of business needs.
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