Opening a Business in Wheat Ridge, Colorado

Contemplating starting a business in Wheat Ridge, Colorado? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Wheat Ridge.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new ventures 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.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Wheat Ridge. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
• We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

What Business to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Free 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 Starting a Sandwiches Wholesale Business guide or our How to Start an Utilities Contractors Business guide.

Don't forget that Wheat Ridge is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in Wheat Ridge than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Wheat Ridge demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Wheat Ridge, Colorado Demographic Information

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

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

As a new Wheat Ridge entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Wheat Ridge 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.

What About Franchising Opportunities?

Visit the business district of Wheat Ridge and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our recommendation is that you consider franchising as an option. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Growth Trends in Franchising. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Blue Chip Cookies and Altoids Gum Vending Machines by Candy King. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Auto Repair Franchises and Print and Sign Franchises.

Note on Wheat Ridge Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Wheat Ridge.

Forming a Company in Wheat Ridge, Colorado

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The main 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 traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating 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. If you are starting a business in Colorado, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Colorado. 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 are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Subchapter S Corporations. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, our information on Incorporating in Colorado may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Colorado.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Successful entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

With your business being located in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Colorado educational institutions. It's also smart to see if there are any Wheat Ridge networking organizations.

Next Steps

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Wheat Ridge and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Wheat Ridge, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Wheat Ridge, Colorado

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

• Resources for Wheat Ridge, Colorado Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Wheat Ridge entrepreneurs.
• Colorado Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Colorado.
• Colorado Small Business Development Center - The Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network is dedicated to helping small businesses throughout Colorado achieve their goals by providing free confidential counseling and various training programs.