Colorado Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Rifle, Colorado

Thinking about starting a business in Rifle, Colorado? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Rifle.

Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?

Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

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

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Rifle. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
  • 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. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

What Type of Business Should You Start?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 Piling Business guide or our Starting a Telecommunications Employment Agencies Business guide.

Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in Rifle. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Rifle. Study Rifle demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Rifle, Colorado Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
714
5-9 Employees
255
10-19 Employees
126
20-49 Employees
72
50-99 Employees
24
100-249 Employees
6
250-499 Employees
6
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Rifle Businesses
1203

As a new Rifle entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Rifle 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
Architectural Services
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Bottled Water Manufacturing
1
Business Associations
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
4
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
2
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Document Preparation Services
3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
4
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
11
Engineering Services
5
Environmental Consulting Services
2
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
9
Flooring Contractors
2
Florists
1
Framing Contractors
6
Full-Service Restaurants
9
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
General Automotive Repair
4
General Freight Trucking, Local
3
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hardware Stores
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Industrial Building Construction
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
10
Janitorial Services
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
4
Limited-Service Restaurants
8
Linen Supply
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Locksmiths
1
Mail-Order Houses
2
Masonry Contractors
3
Meat Markets
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Museums
1
Nail Salons
1
Natural Gas Distribution
2
New Car Dealers
1
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
2
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
4
Offices of Lawyers
3
Offices of Optometrists
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
4
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Potash, Soda, and Borate Mineral Mining
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
4
Roofing Contractors
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Siding Contractors
2
Site Preparation Contractors
7
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1

Naming the Company

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.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

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 Rifle, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another Colorado business.

Forming a Company in Rifle, Colorado

It's very important that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Doing so will protect you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

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

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Colorado, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Colorado. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Why Incorporate in Delaware. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Rifle, Colorado, our web page covering Incorporating in Colorado may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Colorado.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Writing a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. 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 will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read The Art of the Executive Summary. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Colorado.

What's Next?

You have a dream -- starting a business in Rifle. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Rifle 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 Rifle, Colorado

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Colorado

Starting a Business in Ridgway
Starting a Business in Rocky Ford

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

 

 

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