Idaho Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Post Falls, Idaho

Are you starting a business in Post Falls, Idaho? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Post Falls.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

An entrepreneurial life is demanding, much more arduous than working as an employee. Are you certain you want to start a business?

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Post Falls. 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.

What Business Are You Starting?

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Good Business Ideas.

For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Used & Rare Magazines Dealer guide or our Starting a Furniture Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.

Don't forget that your new startup will be located in Post Falls. Some businesses will do better in Post Falls than others. A critical consideration is whether Post Falls demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Post Falls, Idaho Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1535
5-9 Employees
465
10-19 Employees
369
20-49 Employees
234
50-99 Employees
39
100-249 Employees
15
250-499 Employees
12
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Post Falls Businesses
2669

As a new Post Falls entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Post Falls 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
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
4
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
5
Automotive Transmission Repair
3
Beauty Salons
7
Boat Building
2
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
2
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Caterers
1
Child Day Care Services
14
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Systems Design Services
5
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
1
Consumer Lending
3
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
2
Couriers
2
Credit Unions
4
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
3
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Dental Laboratories
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Display Advertising
1
Document Preparation Services
1
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
7
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
7
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
5
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
5
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
2
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
6
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
4
Floor Covering Stores
2
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
16
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
6
General Freight Trucking, Local
3
General Rental Centers
3
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
3
Gold Ore Mining
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
3
Graphic Design Services
1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
3
Hardware Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
2
Homes for the Elderly
1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
17
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
2
Janitorial Services
6
Landscaping Services
16
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
22
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
2
Logging
10
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Machine Shops
2
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
3
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
2
Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Metal Stamping
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
New Car Dealers
4
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nitrogenous Fertilizer Manufacturing
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Office Administrative Services
2
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
7
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
14
Offices of Lawyers
2
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Optical Goods Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
15
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Polystyrene Foam Product Manufacturing
1
Power-Driven Handtool Manufacturing
1
Professional Organizations
1
Racetracks
1
Real Estate Credit
2
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
3
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
10
Sales Financing
1
Savings Institutions
2
Sawmills
1
Securities Brokerage
4
Shoe Stores
5
Siding Contractors
7
Site Preparation Contractors
10
Solid Waste Collection
1
Support Activities for Forestry
3
Tax Preparation Services
3
Taxi Service
1
Temporary Help Services
3
Testing Laboratories
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
6
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tobacco Stores
3
Truss Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
4
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
3
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Vending Machine Operators
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
4
Window Treatment Stores
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Post Falls and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including How to Franchise a Business. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Sample franchise opportunities include ProSpection and Rooter-Man. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Soccer Franchises and Bakery Franchises.

Note on Post Falls Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Post Falls.

Naming the Company

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

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 planning on starting a business in Post Falls, it's critical that you ensure that your company name has not already been claimed by another Idaho business.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Raising money to fund your new Post Falls business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Choosing VC Firms.

For Post Falls entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Idaho Angel Investors and our List of Idaho Venture Capital Firms.

Bring in Revenues

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

Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

How to Build and Motivate a Sales Team 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 Post Falls, 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.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Post Falls and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Post Falls, Idaho

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

More Business Startup Guides for Idaho

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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

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