Oregon Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Portland, Oregon
Need help starting a business in Portland, Oregon? We've got the information you need to open a business in Portland.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
Before quitting your day job, 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 Portland. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- 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.
Portland, Oregon Demographic Information
Portland has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Portland demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Portland.
Businesses
As a new Portland entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Portland 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
Company Formation in Portland, Oregon
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield 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.
Incorporation is a very popular way to form a business. 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. Just because you are starting a business in Oregon, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Oregon. 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 Where to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Portland, Oregon, our information on Incorporating in Oregon may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Oregon.
Promoting Your New Company
Whether your goal is to attract Portland customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your business achieving its goals.
You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Local Search is a good read to get your marketing creativity flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Selling Tips
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Portland or are selling to customers throughout Oregon, 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? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Closing Sales offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
Good business owners know that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Portland, Oregon, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Oregon universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Portland networking organizations.
Portland Entrepreneur Interviews
Here, we'll keep a running list of interviews we've had with Portland entrepreneurs.
- Interview with Entrepreneur Monique Hayward
- Interview with Shannen Knight, Founder of A Sight for Sport Eyes
- Interview with Brent Hieggelke, Founder of Second Porch, Inc.
- Interview with Anvil Media Founder Kent Lewis
Moving Forward
You have a dream -- starting a business in Portland. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Portland and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Portland, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Portland, Oregon
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Portland.
- Resources for Portland, Oregon Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Portland entrepreneurs.
- Oregon Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Oregon.
- Oregon Small Business Development Center - Oregon Small Business Development Centers use a client-centered approach to deliver counseling, training, information and technical assistance in all aspects of small business management. There is no fee for their assistance.
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