Kansas Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Sterling, Kansas
Thinking about starting a business in Sterling, Kansas? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Sterling.
Sterling, Kansas Demographic Information
Sterling has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Sterling demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Sterling.
Businesses
As a new Sterling entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Sterling 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 Buying an Existing Sterling Business?
We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Kansas. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Sterling.
If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Choosing a Business Name
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.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Sterling, it's critical that you ensure that your company name has not already been claimed by another Kansas business.
Company Formation in Sterling, Kansas
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
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. Just because you are starting a business in Kansas, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Kansas. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Registered Agents. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Sterling, Kansas, our web page covering Incorporating in Kansas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Kansas.
Marketing Your New Venture
To rise above the crowd in Sterling and build your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
We have some excellent resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Advertising in Magazines is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
How to Sell
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Sterling business, you need to focus on sales.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Closing Sales offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Sterling, 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 Sterling and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Sterling 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 Sterling, Kansas
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Sterling.
- Resources for Sterling, Kansas Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Sterling entrepreneurs.
- Kansas Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Kansas.
- Kansas Small Business Development Center - The KSBDC Network provides Kansas entrepreneurs and small business owners with knowledge, tools and resources to enhance their success. Contact them and they will help you identify your business needs and guide you toward opportunities and solutions.
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