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]]>What do you like?
First of all, what do you like to do? What interests you? Maybe you love to bake pastries, or perhaps you’ve always been a fan of classic books. Because, let’s face it; do you really want to open a business you have zero passion for? Sure, a vegan pizza joint might do well, but if you’re not vegan and you hate pizza, will you really be happy? Yes, the purpose of running a business is to make money, but ultimately, you want to be happy, so consider what you enjoy doing. That might be the best way to identify what business will work for you.
Know the area
Even if you haven’t run your own business before, you already know the importance of “location, location, location.” You need to know the location. If you want to open a hair salon, is there a need for it in a specific area? And what client base lives in the area? There’s probably a need for what you like to do, but you need to know where it will work within the city.
What are your skills?
What kinds of skills do you have? Area you a “people person”? Perhaps you should work in retail. Would you rather avoid interacting directly with people? Perhaps an e-commerce business will work better for you. Know your strengths, and, just as importantly, know your weaknesses.
Laying the foundation
The hardest part of any business is starting it up. The vast majority of business ideas will remain just that: ideas. There are a million reasons that can prevent someone from opening up a new enterprise. There’s the fear of the unknown, the potential for failure, not having business management experience and so on. To truly succeed, though, you need to just start. Lay the foundation for your company. The first step is the most difficult. Thankfully, when starting a business in Memphis, assistance is all around. From the Greater Memphis Chamber to non-profit organizations looking to offer advice and knowledge, you’re in the right place to start your own company. It’s up to you to get the ball rolling.
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]]>You will find all of that and so much more in the city of Memphis.
Setting Memphis Apart
If you were to look at the small business website of nearly every city, most of these sites will all say the same thing. You’d almost swear some websites just copied and pasted the same content from one city to the next. So with so many cities shoving each other out of the way, attempting to attract you, you need to sift through the advertising fog and uncover what really is important for your business to thrive.
First, you need access to employees who are capable of assisting with you and your development. And while you need access to a large workforce, you may not want to be bogged down with significant competition right out of the gate. After all, a small plant will not always survive when growing in the shadows of a larger tree. It needs its own ability to stretch its roots. That is what you receive in Memphis.
If you were to call Memphis home, you’d have access to big-city level workers, both in terms of quantity and in terms of quality. And yet you have the competition of a smaller town. Chances are, there is more than enough room for you to establish yourself and grow your company.
Helping Your Business Grow
The first few years of a business will make or break it. If you can make it past the give year mark, chances are you’ll be around for the long haul. Usually, the problem is finances. It’s expensive to start a new company, advertise it, network, and connect with the right people.
The city helps support all startup businesses in Memphis. Memphis Entrepreneurs have access to all kinds of loans and grants. The 800 Initiative, which went into effect last year, is designed to help promote minority business owners. However, the city isn’t only assisting minorities and female business owners. The city is open arms to all companies big and small. So, if you have an idea, Memphis wants to help you connect with your audience and grow.
Perfect For Growing Companies
If you work in e-commerce and sell products online, Memphis is in a prime distribution location. Whether you’re shipping to Atlanta or Detroit, you can get your products out faster, which means happier customers and, in return, more return clients.
The landing site for your business is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when running a business. Let Memphis be that best decision you ever make for your company.
Additional Reading
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]]>Funding help
Although seed funding may seem tricky to secure when you’re working solo, it can make a world of difference for you and your business—and that’s where the Memphis Chamber of Commerce and other government bodies come in. By taking advantage of their guidance and resources, you can set yourself up for funding success.
Tax credits
Although taxes are going to follow you whether you start your own business or work for someone else, founding a business in Memphis means you may qualify for tax credits that lighten the burden of this necessary evil. The specific credits for which you qualify will depend on the type of business you are operating, as well as the number and type of employees you hire.
Strategy development help
You may think you have a great idea for a business that will be the only one of its kind in the city, but however compelling it is, your vision is unlikely to come to fruition unless you know how to take your plan and put it on paper. If strategy development isn’t your strong suit, the Memphis Chamber of Commerce offers a variety of resources to help you take the leap from entrepreneurial fantasy to startup reality.
Assistance getting a business license
The paperwork associated with getting a business license can seem overwhelming, but you don’t have to wade through it alone. When you consult the Memphis Chamber of Commerce, you not only ensure that every I is dotted and every T is crossed, you also have the opportunity to ask questions, receive input and connect with fellow entrepreneurs—all aspects of running a small business in Memphis that may make your life as a startup owner easier down the road. In short, working with the Memphis Chamber of Commerce is a win-win, so why not reach out to the organization today?
Important resources
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]]>You won’t find many cities around the nation that boast the startup rates you’ll find here in Memphis, TN. This is likely why Memphis has been included on CNN Money’s list of the top 10 best cities to launch a startup… twice.
In 2014, Memphis was ranked No. 10 by CNN Money. In 2015, it jumped up three spots to No. 7.
This impressive rise shows how quickly the city is becoming a hub for entrepreneurs. Whether you’re thinking about moving here or already live here and are considering starting your own business, let’s take a look at why Memphis entrepreneurship is booming.
Memphis is a leader in female-owned business growth
A lot of women are opening up businesses in Memphis. in fact, the city witnessed a 116 percent increase in female-owned businesses between 2007 and 2012. One inspiring female business owner is Neely Draughon, who founded Off the Square Catering in 2008. Draughon was an accountant in Nashville when she decided to attend pastry school and start her own company here in Memphis, and the rest is history!
Memphis was voted the best city for black entrepreneurs
What’s also fueling Memphis business growth is the uptick in black entrepreneurs opening up shop here. In 2018, Memphis was rated the best city for black-owned businesses by Black Enterprise Magazine.
Indeed, minority-owned businesses of all kinds have flourished in Memphis in recent years. Here’s a look at the numbers from between 2007 and 2012:
- Black-owned firms grew 100 percent
- Hispanic-owned businesses grew 113 percent
- Asian-owned firms grew 23 percent
As with the growth in female entrepreneurship, several factors played a role in the rise of other types of minority-owned businesses in Memphis, including the establishment of programs specifically aimed at women and other minorities.
Programs and funding are available to women and other minorities in Memphis
One of the biggest obstacles associated with starting a business is funding, and this is especially true for women and other minorities. To help, the Memphis-based nonprofit entrepreneurial organization Epicenter teamed up with Pathway Lending, a nonprofit community development financial institution, to launch the Memphis Small Business Opportunity Loan Fund.
Currently, the fund is composed of a whopping $15 million and is backed by three local lenders. Its aim is to fund business owners who may not qualify for conventional bank loans, with loans of between $5,000 and $1 million available to both existing business owners and those looking to launch a startup.
Starting a business (and a life) in Memphis
It can be tough figuring out the best place to sow your seeds. At the end of the day, you want to pick somewhere you can live, work and play. You’ll find an array of opportunities for all three here in Memphis, which is why it’s consistently listed as one of the top cities in the U.S.
If you’re committed to becoming a successful entrepreneur, then Memphis is definitely the place to be!
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]]>An entrepreneurial spirit has always been a big part of what makes Memphis tick. Piggly Wiggly—the first grocery chain in America—was founded here in 1916, and our city continues to be a place where new ideas take root and flourish more than a century later. You don’t have to look far to see unique, innovative companies getting their start in Memphis every day. These are a just a few that we really think you should be watching.
HelloHome
This Memphis-based real estate startup has been picking up speed since it was founded in 2015, thanks to a concept that could revolutionize the process of buying and selling your home. HelloHome allows you to avoid costly commissions by connecting you with real estate agents who will sell your home for a flat rate of $3,500 (instead of the traditional 3-percent commission). It also offers a free platform to connect home buyers to real estate agents, providing a more cost-effective option for buyers and sellers alike. Moreover, HelloHome is the first—and, so far, the only—female-founded and female-led real estate tech startup.
Preteckt
Preteckt is using machine learning technology to change the trucking industry. This Memphis startup manufactures hardware that connects to a big rig’s diagnostic port, logs every second of sensor data and transmits this information to the user via a cloud-based service. The ability to detect maintenance problems weeks in advance translates to on-time deliveries for customers and major savings for trucking companies.
Somavac
Somavac creates medical devices to help people heal at home after surgeries like mastectomies, and they have developed a tool that drastically improves on the current standard of care for at-home, post-op drainage. Dr. Esra Roan left a tenured position as a professor at the University of Memphis to become a first-time entrepreneur, and she’s been incredibly successful. She and her business partner, Josh Herwig, are graduates of ZeroTo510 and have attracted investment from angel investors.
Dev/Con Detect
Billed as the “Norton of ad-tech,” Dev/Con Detect is an ad-tech security company that provides “digital revenue protection through patent-protected technology and expert teams.” If that sounds like convoluted cyberspeak, here’s the premise in a nutshell: cybersecurity software that eliminates the kinds of advertising fraud that cost advertisers and publishers billions of dollars every year. It’s not hard to see why Dev/Con Detect has been receiving a lot of attention since it got started in 2016.
Soundways
Memphis has been a hotbed of musical innovation for decades, from the blues pioneers of the 1920s to the legendary Sun Records era of the ‘50s—and we can’t forget today’s thriving indie scene. Soundways offers musical innovation of another kind, developing technology that changes the way music is recorded, transmitted and heard. Since its founding in 2016, Soundways has been a company led by audio engineers whose only goal is to serve the music.
There are a lot of reasons why Memphis is an alluring destination for anyone looking to start a new business. The spirit of entrepreneurship is woven into the fabric of the city, along with a low cost of living, city initiatives that encourage small business growth and an indefinable “cool” factor that’s impossible to match. Memphis is also one of the cities with the lowest startup costs in America, according to SmartAsset. This all adds up to a city that thrives on new ideas—and we hope yours is next!
For more insights into the Memphis startup scene, check this out!
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