Texas Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Richardson, Texas

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

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Richardson. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
  • You should read The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
  • Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

What Type of Business Should You Start?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Composites Manufacturers Business guide or our How to Start a Glass Bending, Beveling, Drilling, & Grinding Business guide.

Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Richardson. Some businesses will do better in Richardson than others. Don't forget to review Richardson demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Richardson, Texas Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
6161
5-9 Employees
2081
10-19 Employees
1248
20-49 Employees
954
50-99 Employees
423
100-249 Employees
255
250-499 Employees
57
500-999 Employees
42
1000+ Employees
18
All Richardson Businesses
11239

As a new Richardson entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Richardson 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
8
Ambulance Services
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Architectural Services
10
Armored Car Services
1
Art Dealers
3
Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
4
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
8
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Baked Goods Stores
3
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
26
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Book Stores
7
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
4
Business Associations
6
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
2
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
5
Caterers
10
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
22
Civic and Social Organizations
12
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Collection Agencies
4
Commercial Lithographic Printing
14
Commercial Screen Printing
3
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
1
Computer and Software Stores
13
Computer Facilities Management Services
9
Computer Training
3
Confectionery and Nut Stores
2
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
8
Couriers
4
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
3
Credit Unions
8
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
83
Dental Laboratories
9
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
3
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
3
Digital Printing
1
Direct Mail Advertising
5
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
5
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Document Preparation Services
3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
6
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Educational Support Services
3
Electrical Contractors
32
Electronic Computer Manufacturing
4
Electronic Shopping
8
Elementary and Secondary Schools
8
Employment Placement Agencies
11
Engineering Services
64
Environmental Consulting Services
6
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
6
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
3
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fine Arts Schools
8
Finish Carpentry Contractors
5
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Floor Covering Stores
6
Flooring Contractors
2
Florists
5
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
6
Food Service Contractors
12
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
1
Framing Contractors
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
5
Full-Service Restaurants
83
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
3
Furniture Stores
9
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
7
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
4
Graphic Design Services
9
Hardware Stores
3
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
3
Home Centers
3
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
3
Home Health Care Services
20
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
5
Human Rights Organizations
1
Industrial Design Services
2
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
92
Interior Design Services
8
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
2
Internet Service Providers
14
Investment Advice
14
Janitorial Services
24
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing
4
Jewelry Stores
15
Junior Colleges
1
Land Subdivision
4
Landscape Architectural Services
3
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Libraries and Archives
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
92
Limousine Service
3
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
3
Locksmiths
2
Machine Shops
5
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Marinas
1
Marketing Consulting Services
16
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
1
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Media Representatives
2
Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing
1
Men's Clothing Stores
4
Miscellaneous Intermediation
5
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
18
Motion Picture and Video Distribution
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
7
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Musical Groups and Artists
4
Nail Salons
2
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
12
New Housing Operative Builders
3
News Dealers and Newsstands
1
Newspaper Publishers
3
Nonresidential Property Managers
18
Nursing Care Facilities
12
Office Administrative Services
26
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
8
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
4
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
67
Offices of Dentists
112
Offices of Lawyers
52
Offices of Optometrists
9
Offices of Other Holding Companies
7
Offices of Podiatrists
4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
15
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
2
Paging
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
8
Parking Lots and Garages
4
Passenger Car Leasing
2
Payroll Services
3
Periodical Publishers
2
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
13
Photography Studios, Portrait
7
Portfolio Management
6
Professional Employer Organizations
7
Professional Organizations
4
Public Relations Agencies
4
Quick Printing
3
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
19
Real Estate Investment Trusts
4
Remediation Services
3
Residential Property Managers
13
Residential Remodelers
20
Retail Bakeries
1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
1
Roofing Contractors
11
Rooming and Boarding Houses
1
Savings Institutions
7
Securities Brokerage
22
Security Guards and Patrol Services
9
Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing
2
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
8
Siding Contractors
2
Site Preparation Contractors
7
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
20
Software Publishers
12
Software Reproducing
1
Spice and Extract Manufacturing
1
Sporting Goods Stores
21
Sports and Recreation Instruction
5
Telecommunications Resellers
10
Telemarketing Bureaus
2
Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing
5
Temporary Help Services
28
Testing Laboratories
8
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
3
Tire Dealers
4
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
3
Tobacco Stores
1
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
2
Translation and Interpretation Services
3
Travel Agencies
36
Used Car Dealers
7
Used Merchandise Stores
7
Vending Machine Operators
3
Veterinary Services
11
Video Tape and Disc Rental
10
Voluntary Health Organizations
4
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Window Treatment Stores
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
56
Women's Clothing Stores
8
Women's Handbag and Purse Manufacturing
1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
1

Forming a Company in Richardson, Texas

It's very important 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.

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating 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 Texas, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Texas. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Piercing the Corporate Veil. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Richardson, Texas, our web page covering Incorporating in Texas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Texas.

Startup Financing Basics

Raising money to fund your new Richardson business will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

Take advantage of our many articles on securing funding, such as 504 Loans.

For Richardson entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, we have assembled a List of Texas Angel Investors and our List of Texas Venture Capital Firms.

Promoting Your New Business

To grow your Richardson business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Advertising in the Yellow Pages is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

What's Next?

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Richardson and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Richardson 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 Richardson, Texas

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

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