Georgia Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Washington, Georgia
Thinking about starting a business in Washington, Georgia? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Washington.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Washington. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- Take a look at The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. 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?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read 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 Opening a Geological Supplies Business guide or our Opening a Psychic Consulting & Healing Business guide.
Remember that you are starting a business in Washington. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Washington. Don't forget to review Washington demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Washington, Georgia Demographic Information
Washington has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Washington demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Washington.
Businesses
As a new Washington entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Washington 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 Washington Business?
We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Georgia. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Washington.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Buying a Business.
Company Formation in Washington, Georgia
It's very important that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
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 Georgia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Georgia. In fact, you can 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. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as LLC Advantages. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Washington, Georgia, our information on Incorporating in Georgia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Georgia.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Having a business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Georgia.
Letting the World Know You Exist
Whether your goal is to attract Washington customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a solid marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Television Advertising Rates is a good read to get your marketing thoughts flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Washington. 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 Washington businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Washington 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 Washington, Georgia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Washington.
- Resources for Washington, Georgia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Washington entrepreneurs.
- Georgia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Georgia.
- Georgia Small Business Development Center - The Georgia SBDC program helps Georgia entrepreneurs with developing business plans, providing financial analysis, identifying sources of capital, and assessing marketing strategies.
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