Tips for Opening a New Local Small Business

People make choices every day about which businesses they will patronize. Some people are willing to give up a personalized shopping experience to benefit from the often-lower prices in big chain stores. Other people prefer to support small businesses, especially those in their own communities. According to Score, 91 percent of Americans shop at small businesses weekly. If you’re thinking about opening a new business in your community, start with these questions.

What Kind of Local Business Should You Start?

To begin, think about what you could do to make your business stand apart from the crowd. If you’re opening a coffee shop, for instance, don’t mimic the big chain stores. Instead, create an atmosphere that promotes a community feeling. Consider using photos of local points of interest or memorabilia as décor to demonstrate your dedication to your community.

How Do You Start a New Business?

Not everyone has a business background or an advanced business degree. If you’d like to sharpen your business skills, earning an MBA can help you learn how to be a good leader and manager, the importance of self-assessment strategies and self-awareness, and expand your overall business knowledge.

You’ll need to check on local and state requirements for opening a business, as these can differ. Consider forming a limited liability company. An LLC provides several benefits, including limited liability, tax advantages, flexibility and less paperwork. There’s no need to pay costly lawyer fees; you can submit LLC paperwork yourself or use a formation service.

Different types of businesses require certain things that others don’t. Some things you’ll probably need to do are:

• Obtain all required permits and licenses
• Get an employer identification number and state sales tax account
• Create a sound business plan
• Open business bank accounts
• Purchase insurance
• Create a brand and a mobile-optimized website
  

Give careful consideration to your business’s logo. An effective logo is memorable and makes your business stand out—you could even incorporate your community into your logo. The easiest and least expensive way to create a logo is to use a business logo creator. This tool allows you to generate a unique logo by choosing a premade template and customizing it with your own color scheme, font, images, and more.

Now is also the time to figure out how you’re going to accept payments from your customers. With Redde Payments, your business will be able to accept payments in person, online, through your app, over the phone, by invoice, and more!

How Can Your Small Business Benefit Your Community?

Starting a new business in your area not only benefits you, but it can also provide benefits to the community by:

• Providing jobs
• Giving locals the option of supporting a small business, which can make them feel good about themselves
• Supplying goods or services that large companies may not
• Personalizing your customers’ shopping experience
• Selling or using products from other small businesses in the community
• Keeping tax dollars local
  

How Can You Engage With Your Community?

Get out there and make yourself known. Most people who support small businesses like to have a face to put with the name. Join your local Chamber of Commerce and other suitable local organizations, purchase ads from local schools, participate in community-wide events and advertise locally.

When you employ a local, you’re gaining more than an employee. That person’s family and friends will learn about your business and be more likely to buy from you and spread the good word about your company, knowing that by supporting your business, they are providing job security for your employee.

Is Opening a New Local Business Right for You?

You have what it takes to meet this challenge. Brush up on business knowledge if needed and find ways to make your business a successful, important part of your community.