Information on opening a new business in Columbus Ohio.

Hello all!

I'm interested in starting a small business downtown Columbus and honestly need information on the steps I should take or people I should talk to. I've only lived in Columbus for a little over a year but have a great idea for a small buisness in the heart of the city. I look forward to all advice anyone can give me. Thank you for your time!!!

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Permalink Reply by Jen M. Middleton on June 24, 2011 at 12:02pm

Better late than never? I only signed up recently.

Honestly, my first step was going to the library - I checked out a ton of books both on opening a small business and my market specifically, as well as one on writing my business plan. The biggest suggestion they had was to know your market, especially since you're so new to the city - start going around to your competitors and write down things you like about their business style, and things you'd change. It really helps get the creative juices flowing.

The other thing that's done that for me is writing my business plan. I didn't have half of the ideas I'm writing about in mind when I started writing it, but as you work through the process you end up discovering 'problems' that you need to address. That's good! Better to think of these things now than after you've dumped money into the project.