Louisiana Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Oakdale, Louisiana
Thinking about starting a business in Oakdale, Louisiana? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Oakdale.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
Being an entrepreneur is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you want to start a business?
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Oakdale. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- Peruse Why Small Businesses Fail. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Oakdale, Louisiana Demographic Information
Oakdale has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Oakdale demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Oakdale.
Businesses
As a new Oakdale entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Oakdale 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 Buying an Existing Oakdale Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Louisiana. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Oakdale.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Choosing a Company Name
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.
Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Oakdale, it's critical that you ensure that your company name has not already been claimed by another Louisiana business.
Company Formation in Oakdale, Louisiana
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
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. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Louisiana, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Louisiana. 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's a lot to know about 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 should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Oakdale, Louisiana, our web page covering Incorporating in Louisiana may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Louisiana.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Creating a business plan is critical to the health of your new business. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Expert Advice on Business Plans. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Louisiana.
Raising Capital for Your Venture
Raising money to fund your new Oakdale business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as How Equity Dilution Works.
For Oakdale entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, you'll want to take a look at our List of Louisiana Angel Investors and our List of Louisiana Venture Capital Firms.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Oakdale, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Oakdale businesses to be successful. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Oakdale, Louisiana
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Oakdale.
- Resources for Oakdale, Louisiana Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Oakdale entrepreneurs.
- Louisiana Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Louisiana.
- Louisiana Small Business Development Center - The Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC Network) provides low- or no-cost guidance and training for small business owners and potential owners.
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