Texas Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Plano, Texas

Contemplating starting a business in Plano, Texas? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Plano.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Running your own business is demanding, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you positive you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

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:

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Plano. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • You should read Starting a Company. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
  • Talk it over with a close friend or partner. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Plano, Texas Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
37587
5-9 Employees
11877
10-19 Employees
7821
20-49 Employees
6192
50-99 Employees
2286
100-249 Employees
1125
250-499 Employees
333
500-999 Employees
153
1000+ Employees
99
All Plano Businesses
67473

As a new Plano entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Plano 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
Advertising Agencies
14
Amusement Arcades
2
Architectural Services
17
Art Dealers
6
Automobile Driving Schools
4
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
2
Automotive Transmission Repair
9
Baked Goods Stores
4
Barber Shops
4
Beauty Salons
68
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
15
Blind and Shade Manufacturing
1
Boat Dealers
3
Book Publishers
5
Book Stores
16
Books Printing
1
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
5
Business Associations
2
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
10
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
8
Car Washes
13
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
8
Caterers
1
Child and Youth Services
5
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
19
Civic and Social Organizations
14
Claims Adjusting
7
Clothing Accessories Stores
10
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
9
Collection Agencies
3
Commercial Bakeries
1
Commercial Photography
2
Commercial Screen Printing
2
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
1
Computer and Software Stores
26
Computer Facilities Management Services
16
Computer Systems Design Services
197
Computer Training
6
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
2
Consumer Lending
9
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
4
Convenience Stores
19
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
3
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
4
Couriers
5
Credit Bureaus
1
Credit Card Issuing
1
Credit Unions
18
Curtain and Drapery Mills
3
Custom Computer Programming Services
199
Dance Companies
1
Dental Laboratories
5
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
4
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
13
Direct Mail Advertising
10
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
21
Discount Department Stores
6
Display Advertising
1
Document Preparation Services
10
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
5
Educational Support Services
5
Electric Power Distribution
5
Electrical Contractors
36
Electronic Computer Manufacturing
1
Electronic Shopping
5
Elementary and Secondary Schools
20
Employment Placement Agencies
15
Engineering Services
63
Environmental Consulting Services
10
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
15
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
12
Family Clothing Stores
37
Family Planning Centers
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
3
Fine Arts Schools
20
Finish Carpentry Contractors
11
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
27
Floor Covering Stores
12
Flooring Contractors
5
Florists
7
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
19
Food Service Contractors
31
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
4
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
2
Framing Contractors
7
Freight Transportation Arrangement
18
Fruit and Vegetable Canning
1
Full-Service Restaurants
204
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
8
General Automotive Repair
39
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
3
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
31
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Grantmaking Foundations
3
Graphic Design Services
7
Greeting Card Publishers
1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
7
Hardware Stores
1
HMO Medical Centers
1
Home Centers
7
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
13
Home Health Care Services
20
Homes for the Elderly
7
Household Appliance Stores
10
Industrial Building Construction
1
Industrial Design Services
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
141
Interior Design Services
13
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
3
Internet Service Providers
9
Investigation Services
4
Investment Advice
39
Janitorial Services
52
Jewelry Stores
41
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
13
Landscape Architectural Services
10
Landscaping Services
83
Language Schools
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
246
Limousine Service
3
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
3
Locksmiths
2
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
2
Machine Shops
5
Mail-Order Houses
13
Marking Device Manufacturing
1
Masonry Contractors
11
Materials Recovery Facilities
1
Mattress Manufacturing
1
Meat Markets
6
Media Representatives
7
Medical Laboratories
7
Metal Household Furniture Manufacturing
1
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
12
Mixed Mode Transit Systems
1
Mobile Food Services
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
33
Motion Picture and Video Production
5
Motorcycle Dealers
6
Museums
3
Musical Groups and Artists
4
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
8
Nail Salons
6
Natural Gas Distribution
2
Navigational Services to Shipping
1
New Housing Operative Builders
12
News Dealers and Newsstands
1
Newspaper Publishers
3
Nonresidential Property Managers
16
Nursing Care Facilities
17
Office Administrative Services
57
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
10
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
73
Offices of Chiropractors
36
Offices of Dentists
195
Offices of Lawyers
104
Offices of Optometrists
42
Offices of Other Holding Companies
14
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
14
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Open-End Investment Funds
1
Optical Goods Stores
17
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing
1
Paging
3
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
11
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
26
Parking Lots and Garages
1
Passenger Car Leasing
3
Passenger Car Rental
5
Payroll Services
6
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
11
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
11
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
23
Photography Studios, Portrait
19
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing
1
Political Organizations
4
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
2
Prepress Services
1
Private Mail Centers
18
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Professional Organizations
3
Public Relations Agencies
4
Quick Printing
4
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
60
Real Estate Investment Trusts
8
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Remediation Services
1
Repossession Services
1
Residential Remodelers
34
Retail Bakeries
4
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
2
Roofing Contractors
14
Sales Financing
12
Satellite Telecommunications
2
Savings Institutions
20
Secondary Market Financing
2
Securities Brokerage
44
Security Guards and Patrol Services
4
Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing
2
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
4
Shoe Stores
36
Sign Manufacturing
5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
54
Software Publishers
19
Sound Recording Studios
2
Sporting Goods Stores
24
Sports and Recreation Instruction
23
Sports Teams and Clubs
2
Steel Wire Drawing
1
Tax Preparation Services
21
Telecommunications Resellers
3
Telemarketing Bureaus
8
Telephone Answering Services
3
Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing
6
Temporary Help Services
34
Temporary Shelters
2
Textile Bag Mills
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
4
Thread Mills
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
6
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
3
Tire Dealers
22
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
12
Tour Operators
2
Tradebinding and Related Work
2
Translation and Interpretation Services
3
Travel Agencies
26
Truck Trailer Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
11
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
6
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
39
Video Tape and Disc Rental
17
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
11
Web Search Portals
1
Wet Corn Milling
1
Window Treatment Stores
6
Wineries
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
43
Women's Clothing Stores
56
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Plano Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Texas. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Plano.

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Forming a Company in Plano, Texas

It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will protect 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 Texas, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Texas. 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. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Dissolving a Corporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Plano, Texas, our information on Incorporating in Texas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Texas.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Having a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, 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 makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Texas.

Bring in Revenues

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Plano business, you need to focus on sales.

Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Closing Sales offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Next Steps

As an entrepreneur in Plano, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Plano 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 Plano, Texas

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Texas

Starting a Business in Plainview
Starting a Business in Pleasanton

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

 

 

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