Washington Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Vancouver, Washington
Thinking about starting a business in Vancouver, Washington? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Vancouver.
Vancouver, Washington Demographic Information
Vancouver has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Vancouver demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Vancouver.
Businesses
As a new Vancouver entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Vancouver 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
Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?
Visit the business district of Vancouver and you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. So, it probably makes sense for you to consider franchising too.
Our advice is to look into purchasing a franchise. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Credit and Franchise Purchasing. 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.
Representative franchise opportunities include Redbrick Pizza and Wellington Pet Care. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as B2B Franchises and Financial Services Franchises.
Note on Vancouver Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Vancouver.
Company Formation in Vancouver, Washington
A critical step is ensuring that you form your business as a legal structure. 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 common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Washington, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Washington. 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'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 Incorporation Advice. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Vancouver, Washington, our information on Incorporating in Washington may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Washington.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
Having a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Starting a business without a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Washington.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Getting your Vancouver business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.
For Vancouver entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, browse our List of Washington Angel Investors and our List of Washington Venture Capital Firms.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
The best entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.
With your business being located in Vancouver, Washington, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Washington universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Vancouver entrepreneurs.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Vancouver. 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 Vancouver businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Vancouver 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 Vancouver, Washington
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Vancouver.
- Resources for Vancouver, Washington Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Vancouver entrepreneurs.
- Washington Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Washington.
- Washington Small Business Development Center - Washington Small Business Development Centers promote economic vitality by providing advice, training and research to Washington entrepreneurs and existing Washington businesses.
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