Michigan Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Royal Oak, Michigan
Contemplating starting a business in Royal Oak, Michigan? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Royal Oak.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Being an entrepreneur is difficult, much more arduous than working as an employee. Are you certain you are ready to take on this challenge?
To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Royal Oak. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Royal Oak, Michigan Demographic Information
Royal Oak has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Royal Oak demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Royal Oak.
Businesses
As a new Royal Oak entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Royal Oak 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
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.
Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Royal Oak, it's critical that you ensure that no other Michigan company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Royal Oak, Michigan
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.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
Incorporation 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 Michigan, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Michigan. 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 C Corp Versus S Corp. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Royal Oak, Michigan, our information on Incorporating in Michigan may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Michigan.
The Role of the Business Plan
Writing a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Indeed, 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 Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Michigan.
How to Sell
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Royal Oak business, you need to focus on sales.
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.
Anticipating Prospect Responses 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 Royal Oak, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Royal Oak 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 Royal Oak, Michigan
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Royal Oak.
- Resources for Royal Oak, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Royal Oak entrepreneurs.
- Michigan Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Michigan.
- Michigan Small Business Development Center - This organization supports 12 regional offices and over 30 satellite offices, each providing counseling and training to Michigan small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the 83 counties in Michigan. Services to entrepreneurs are offered through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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