Learn how to start a business in Texas. Becoming a small business owner in Texas is also one of the most rewarding life altering decisions you can embark upon. Texas Entrepreneurship offers individuals an opportunity to fulfill a community need while utilizing their unique skillsets. If you’ve got an idea that deserves to be brought to the public, learn how to start a business in Texas today.
If you’re a Texas native who wants to learn how to start a business in Texas you’re in luck! Texas is one of the most entrepreneur-friendly states in the U.S, encouraging their citizens to kickstart their business journey by offering tax help, financing options, and so many resources to make getting started a breeze. Knowing where to start your journey, however, can be half the battle so where should you start? Do you want to start a small business in Texas? Do you want to be an independent operator? Need a CDL? Do you want to start a cleaning business in Texas?
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Step One: Write Up Your Texas Business Plan
Firstly, you can’t start up your business without having the plan laid out first. This is essentially your guideline to getting your business up and running. You’ll want to outline your idea in full which includes the problem or need you’re essentially trying to solve. It will outline how you plan to fulfill it. Do you want to learn how to start an online business in Texas?
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Upwork is a great place to find a freelancer for hire to create your business plan. Many Texas law firms and tax attorneys can help you learn how to start your own business in Texas.
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This is where you’ll want to showcase the structure of your business and how you plan to finance it. This includes the hierarchy of the business itself and what positions you’ll need to implement to maintain profitability. detail how your business will fit within the competitive market.
Another resource to learn how to start a business in Texas that citizens can source are templates and other helpful resources from Texas.gov. Read The Governor’s Office Small Business Handbook supplied by the Texas Economic Development Division. These resources can help you create your outline and get a good idea of how to effectively formulate your business plan.
Should you form an LLC or a Corporation?
The UBA Law Group which is a member of the Black Owned Businesses of DFW has the 411. #TexasBusinesses
Step Two: Figure Out Where You will Start your Business in Texas
Setting up shop looks different depending on where in Texas you’re hoping to operate. The expense and feasibility of your business’s success will greatly depend on the location and type of business you are operating. Culture and cost are significant and critical to succeeding.
Secondly, to learn how to start a business in Texas, you’ll want to first research city and county zoning ordinances so you can garner how practical it is to set up where you’re wanting to. Next, you’ll want to account for culture. Is your business going to thrive where you’ve decided to put it? Will you be able to develop a customer base and find workers who can help your business flourish?
Regional culture does a lot more for the success and start of a Texas business than you’d imagine. A shop selling sustainable kitchen products might fare better in Austin or Dallas as opposed to Amarillo or Waco. Whereas a store selling agriculture products would do better in Lubbock than it would in Plano.
Local culture can make or break a business, so it is important to consider if your business will be adding to the community or detract from it. A unique business may fare better in an unexpected area if the community has a need for it. Such as a casual vegan restaurant in a low-income area might get more business than you’d expect as it is the only one of its kind in that area. Think outside the box.
Step Three: Learn to Finance Your Texas Business
You’ve got the idea laid out to learn to start a business in Texas and you’ve found the perfect place to put it. Let’s talk cash. How are you going to get the cash flow to get your business off the ground? This includes paying for the building, licenses, equipment, furnishings, and of course your workforce. Thankfully there are a wealth of options available for the aspiring entrepreneur.
There are official avenues like seeking out investors or taking out a small business loan. But as we all know, Texans are always looking to help their fellow man. In that manner you might be able to find local investors, do fundraisers or crowdfund. If you think that is a bad idea, think again. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez crowd funded her way to Washington, D.C. to pay her rent and expenses.
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If you think your business will have a positive impact on the community you may be able to find local funding without having to jump through the hoops of bank and federal loans.
There are also grants that some communities offer to small businesses. Particularly, if they believe that business will have a positive effect on the community as a whole. Above all, they can ultimately help your business thrive without having to take out too many loans.
Step Four: Texas Business Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork
Once you secure funding to start a business in Texas, you’ll want to get everything else locked down. This means getting all of your official licenses in order for your business. Also, filing your business with the State and getting your taxes set up. Your county clerk and the comptroller will be your best friends when it comes to getting everything filed the way that it should be.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation is another great research for Texans who are trying to wade through the paperwork trail and figure out what exactly they need for their respective business. Whether that’s permits, licenses, or other official documents, these resources can help you figure that out.
Step Five: Employment Regulations in Texas
Your paperwork is done, your office or storefront is being set up, and you’ve got all of your finances in order. Now you need workers! Texas is brimming with local talent who can help optimize your business.
In that regard, you can reach out to local recruiters to start your own Texas business or add yourself to resource pages where talented Texans go to reach out for employment. These can be anything from community job boards to Facebook groups that make amazing resources to find high-quality employees.
Workers’ Compensation is a consideration. Regulatory compliance is critical to start your business in Texas. You must determine whether you must carry workers’ compensation. Find an insurance company who specializes in your business.
What Else?
Texas is one of the best places for your small business to thrive. With Texas being so big and so diverse, you’re likely to find an area that works best for your business. Taking advantage of local buzz and tools and resources that the state government provides can offer a leg up you might not have had otherwise. As Texans, we know the importance of following your dreams and going for them no matter what the cost. Starting your own business in Texas is no different.
There will be a community that needs for your dream to be a reality. That community can help your dream blossom rather than doing it all on your own. So reach out to experts and other local entrepreneurs who can give you tips and tricks of the trade.
In Texas, we stick together. Building the dreams of our communities one storefront at a time.