Wisconsin Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Stoughton, Wisconsin

Need help starting a business in Stoughton, Wisconsin? We've got the information you need to open a business in Stoughton.

Do You Have What It Takes?

Most startup companies do not succeed, in part because the business owner did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Stoughton. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at 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 Homeowners' Associations Business guide or our How to Start a Lighting Equipment & Systems Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.

Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in Stoughton. If Stoughton already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Only by spending some time analyzing Stoughton demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Stoughton, Wisconsin Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
767
5-9 Employees
252
10-19 Employees
200
20-49 Employees
78
50-99 Employees
27
100-249 Employees
18
250-499 Employees
9
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
3
All Stoughton Businesses
1354

As a new Stoughton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Stoughton 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
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Barber Shops
2
Beauty Salons
6
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Boat Dealers
1
Books Printing
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
1
Car Washes
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
10
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Consumer Lending
1
Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing
1
Copper Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding
1
Credit Unions
1
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Engineering Services
4
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Fabric Coating Mills
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Floor Covering Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
1
Framing Contractors
3
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
12
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
General Automotive Repair
4
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
9
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
1
Homes for the Elderly
5
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
7
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
1
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
4
Jewelry Stores
3
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
9
Logging
1
Mail-Order Houses
3
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Masonry Contractors
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
New Car Dealers
1
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
2
Offices of Dentists
8
Offices of Lawyers
4
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Optical Goods Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Real Estate Credit
1
Residential Property Managers
2
Residential Remodelers
9
Retail Bakeries
1
Roofing Contractors
2
Securities Brokerage
3
Septic Tank and Related Services
2
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Siding Contractors
3
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Small Arms Ammunition Manufacturing
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Sports and Recreation Instruction
2
Tax Preparation Services
2
Taxi Service
1
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire Manufacturing (except Retreading)
1
Truck Trailer Manufacturing
1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
5

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Stoughton Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Wisconsin. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Stoughton.

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.

Company Formation in Stoughton, Wisconsin

It's essential 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 traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporation is a very popular way to form a business. 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. Just because you are starting a business in Wisconsin, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Wisconsin. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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 Pre-Incorporation Agreements. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Stoughton, Wisconsin, our web page covering Incorporating in Wisconsin may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Wisconsin.

Getting the Word Out About Your New Business

To rise above the crowd in Stoughton and build your business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Advertising on Google discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

The best entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Stoughton, Wisconsin, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby Wisconsin universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking organizations for Stoughton entrepreneurs.

Now It's Up To You

Most new Stoughton businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Stoughton 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 Stoughton, Wisconsin

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

More Startup Articles for Wisconsin Cities

Starting a Business in Stevens Point
Starting a Business in Sturgeon Bay

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

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary