Starting your own business locally can be a boon for you, the business, and the Greater Hewitt, Texas, community. You’ll have the convenience of running your business locally, and you may even be able to begin it as a side project or hobby that runs out of your home, gradually expanding into a full-fledged company with its own dedicated space. No doubt you’ll benefit from the goodwill of the local population, who will want to see your business succeed and enrich their neighborhood.

How the community will benefit

Local small businesses benefit the community in a number of ways. They may provide employment for community residents, add diversity of products and services to the area, and often bring growth and innovation. Small businesses are frequently more environmentally-friendly than larger, multi-location corporations since they generally have less infrastructure, lower maintenance, use pre-existing buildings, and source their products locally, eliminating the need for long-distance transport of goods. Experts claim that small businesses have provided over half the employment opportunities available in the past 25 years. Community involvement, such as donating, sponsoring, and hosting local events, are often strong and vibrant in businesses run by local entrepreneurs. 

Legalities of starting a small business

The steps for starting a small business are similar regardless of where it will be located. You’ll need to write a business plan, get a federal tax number, and structure your business with the state of Texas. LLCs are one of the most popular choices for small businesses because they offer several key benefits, including liability protection, flexibility, and tax efficiency. Perhaps the most important benefit of an LLC is that it shields your personal assets from being seized in the event that your business is sued. This liability protection is essential for any business owner, but it's especially important for small businesses, which are often targeted by lawsuits. LLCs also offer greater flexibility than other business structures when it comes to how you can distribute profits and losses among owners. And because LLCs are pass-through entities, profits are only taxed once at the individual level, which can be a significant advantage.

While an attorney can set up your LLC for you, they come at a steep price. A more cost-effective method is working with an online formation agency. An objective, third-party website can help you choose the best formation services company for your needs. This BestLLCServices.com reviews page offers pros and cons, customer feedback, and more comprehensive information on one of the top online LLC services companies, and it even has a discount code for you to register your LLC for free.

Other important steps of starting a small business

You’ll also need to set up plans for financing, marketing, hiring employees, and record keeping when getting your business going. You may want to plan a grand opening to get the community involved. It’s important to figure out what sort of presence your company will be in the neighborhood. If your business sponsors a local baseball team, they’ll likely display your logo and patronize your establishment, too. Make sure you create connections as a member of the Greater Hewitt Chamber of Commerce and local chapters of any small business associations. Once your business is established, make sure you participate in local events, such as community clean-ups, festivals, and contests. Your brand, logo, and products need to be easily recognizable.

If you don’t know how to get your presence known in the local community, it’s worth it to work with a public relations expert who can help you make a splash in Hewitt. Hiring a freelance professional is less expensive than bringing on a full-time staff member since they are hired on a contract basis and don’t require company benefits, so you can get the help you need affordably. You can use a hiring website like this one to vet and compare candidates.

Create a social media presence

Although some of your marketing will be done on-site and in the neighborhood, it’s important that your business have a social media presence, too. Facebook is the most popular social media channel for small businesses, so this is the place to begin. Your company needs a business page separate from your personal Facebook page. On the company page, you can share information on your location, hours, services and products, and prices, as well as any community events you sponsor or participate in. Once your company has a strong Facebook presence, it’s time to think about your target demographic and determine which other social media platforms will be worthwhile.

If you need help with your social media marketing strategy, consider recruiting a professional to help you. A site like LinkedIn will help you narrow down candidates by showing your their background, published articles, and references, and you can reach out directly to anyone who catches your eye through the website. Having a strong digital presence in your community is just as important as having a physical presence, so this is an expense worth making.

While starting your own business could hardly be called a simple task, it can be done more easily when you have the community supporting you. Your company will help to enrich and diversify locally-available products and services, and the taxes that people pay there will help to support schools, parks, public health care, and public transit, further enriching the community. Of course, you’ll invest in some local marketing, and social media posts can further promote your company.