Michigan Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Shepherd, Michigan
Contemplating starting a business in Shepherd, Michigan? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Shepherd.
Choosing the Right Company to Start
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to 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 Child Care Information & Referral Services Business guide or our Starting a Plumbers Business guide.
Always keep in mind that your new business will be in Shepherd. If Shepherd already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Study Shepherd demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Shepherd, Michigan Demographic Information
Shepherd has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Shepherd demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Shepherd.
Businesses
As a new Shepherd entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Shepherd 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
Have You Considered Franchising?
Visit the business district of Shepherd and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. Is it perhaps smarter to franchise a business instead of doing it from scratch.
Our advice is to evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Costs of Franchise Ownership. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include O'Charleys and Humitech Franchise Corporation. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Restaurant Services Franchises and Telecommunications Franchises.
Note on Shepherd Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Shepherd.
Forming a Company in Shepherd, Michigan
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.
The entity you form can be 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 Michigan, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Michigan. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. 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 ESOP Formation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Shepherd, Michigan, our information on Incorporating in Michigan may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Michigan.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
Having a business plan is vital to the health of your new business. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Michigan.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Getting your Shepherd business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.
For Shepherd entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Michigan Angel Investors and our List of Michigan Venture Capital Firms.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
With your business being located in Shepherd, Michigan, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Michigan educational institutions. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Shepherd entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
Never Give Up
As an entrepreneur in Shepherd, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Shepherd and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Shepherd 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 Shepherd, Michigan
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Shepherd.
- Resources for Shepherd, Michigan Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Shepherd 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.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Michigan
Starting a Business in Shelby Township
Starting a Business in South Haven
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Michigan
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs