New Business Growth in Colorado

by | Aug 14, 2014 | Business News

Colorado’s Startup Climate: Why New Businesses Are Booming—and How to Take Advantage

(Updated November 10, 2025)

New businesses and entrepreneurship are on the rise in the Centennial State. According to the Secretary of State’s Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators Report covering the second quarter of the year referenced, new business entity filings increased 4% compared with the same quarter in 2013. Looking at a full year of activity, the report also showed a 4.8% year-over-year increase in filings, underscoring sustained momentum rather than a one-time spike.

Positive trends went beyond new filings. The second quarter also saw higher employment levels in Colorado and nationwide and an uptick in renewal filings from existing companies. Renewal activity—a useful proxy for the health and confidence of established businesses—rose 3.9% from the first quarter. Taken together, these indicators supported the report’s prediction of continued employment and economic growth for the next two quarters, driven by new jobs at startups and expanding firms.

The outlook within the report was specific: filings were expected to increase in the third quarter, then moderate in the fourth (a typical seasonal pattern), while still finishing the year above the prior year’s fourth quarter. For prospective founders and growing companies, this kind of steady trajectory is encouraging. It suggests a supportive backdrop for launching a new venture or investing in expansion plans.

Colorado’s broader economic profile bolstered these findings. When Business Insider ranked all 50 state economies using eight indicators—unemployment, GDP, average wages, labor force size, and more—Colorado earned the #1 spot, performing within the top 15 across every metric and benefiting from a highly diversified economy. A balanced mix of industries often cushions a state from volatility, giving entrepreneurs a stronger foundation on which to build.

Lower Barriers to Entry: Filing Fee Holiday

On June 9, the Secretary of State announced a filing fee holiday for new business entity filings, reducing the fee from $50 to $1 through the summer. Triggered by budget surpluses, the initiative aimed to put a little more cash in founders’ pockets during the earliest—and often leanest—stage of formation. After summer, the office indicated the fee would be reevaluated monthly. Combined with the favorable indicators already mentioned, the reduced fee created a practical, near-term incentive to form a new entity or launch a spin-off.

Why These Trends Matter for Founders

  • Validation for timing: Rising filings and renewals signal founder confidence and a supportive ecosystem—useful when deciding whether to start now or wait.
  • Capital and talent: Strong statewide performance often attracts investors and skilled workers, making it easier to hire and finance early growth.
  • Network effects: As more businesses form, support services (bookkeeping, marketing, legal, HR, IT) cluster and mature, lowering costs and speeding execution for everyone.

Smart Next Steps to Start (or Expand) in Colorado

If you’re ready to act while the winds are favorable, consider these foundational steps. They’ll help you move from idea to launch with fewer surprises:

  1. Validate your concept.
    Draft a concise value proposition, identify your core customer, and test demand with small pilots or pre-orders. Early validation reduces costly pivots later.
  2. Choose the right entity type.
    LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, partnership, or sole proprietorship—each has implications for liability, taxation, governance, and investor expectations. Many small businesses opt for an LLC for flexibility, while venture-bound startups often choose a C-Corp. The “right” answer depends on your goals.
  3. Lock down governance documents.
    • Operating Agreement (LLC) or Bylaws/Shareholder Agreement (Corporation)
    • Buy-sell provisions for co-founders and investors
    • Ownership and vesting schedules to protect the company if someone leaves
      Clear rules now prevent disputes later.
  4. Register and get your numbers in order.
    • File your entity with the Colorado Secretary of State
    • Obtain an EIN from the IRS
    • Open a business bank account and set up bookkeeping from day one
      Clean separation of business and personal finances is crucial for liability protection and tax reporting.
  5. Mind licenses, permits, and taxes.
    Depending on your industry and location, you may need sales tax registration, professional licenses, or municipal approvals. Verify requirements early to avoid penalties or delays.
  6. Protect your brand and IP.
    Conduct name and trademark searches; consider federal trademark registration for your brand and agreements that clarify ownership of creative or technical work.
  7. Use the right contracts.
    Standardized, attorney-reviewed client agreements, vendor contracts, employment or contractor agreements, and a privacy policy/terms of use (for online businesses) establish clarity and help manage risk.
  8. Plan your team thoughtfully.
    Understand the distinctions between employees and independent contractors, wage and hour rules, and required insurance (such as workers’ compensation). Misclassification can be costly.
  9. Build a simple growth plan.
    Draft a 90-day plan covering your offer, pricing, channels, sales cadence, and cash flow. Short planning cycles let you learn and adapt quickly.
  10. Stay compliant after you launch.
    Mark your calendar for annual reports, renewal filings, and tax deadlines. Rising renewal rates suggest more businesses are staying current—join them and avoid reinstatement headaches.

Expansion Tips for Existing Businesses

  • Consider a new entity or subsidiary for a new product line to isolate risk or welcome new investors.
  • Update your governance to match growth: board structure, shareholder agreements, and key-person/owner succession planning.
  • Review contracts and insurance annually; what worked at $500K in revenue may not fit at $5M.
  • Leverage incentives and programs available to growing Colorado businesses (local grants, workforce training support, and small-business development resources).

The Bottom Line

With strong business formation trends, healthy renewal activity, and top-ranked statewide economic performance, Colorado presents a compelling environment for both new founders and expanding companies. Add in a temporary $1 filing fee and there’s extra motivation to formalize your venture and start building momentum.

Now is an excellent time to consider starting or scaling your business with Colorado’s positive outlook at your back—and with reduced friction at the formation stage.

If you’re ready to take the next step, reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C., home of your Denver Business Lawyer, Elizabeth Lewis. Call 720-258-6647 or Contact Us to get guidance on choosing the right entity, preparing essential agreements, protecting your IP, and setting up a compliance plan that grows with you.

How to Research Your Business Name

by | Jul 8, 2014 | IP Law

If you have a particular name that you want to use or are already using for your business, it is important to act quickly to find out if anyone else is using that name. There a few simple research steps and searches that you can do yourself, right now, which can give you a better idea of the status of your business name.

Before getting started with these steps, it is essential to remember that you perform several different searches. Try alternative spellings, as well as putting in additional words that might make sense to be included within the name. Basically, you want to try and search for anything that might sound like or get confused with the name that you have selected.

The first step is easy enough, simply run a few searches with an online search engine, like Google, of the business name. Pay attention to the results for not only exact name matches but similar matches that are making or performing related goods or services to what you had in mind with the name.

Next you can try going to a domain name registration site, such as GoDaddy.com, and entering in your business name into the domain name search. This will let you know whether or not someone already owns that website domain. Remember to take note that even if your preferred domain like .com is available, be sure to look through the other search results to see if someone is using your business name in another domain like .net, .us or others.

Digging in a bit deeper with your research, you should go to the U.S. Patent Office website. Here you will be able to see if someone has previously trademarked your business name. To run the search, go to tmsearch.uspto.gov, then click on “Basic Word Mark Search” and start running different searches to see what names have been trademarked.

Now that you have searched the national trademark database, you will want to narrow down your research more locally. You can do this by visiting the website for the Office of the Secretary of State for each state that you are or might do business in. For example, the Colorado Secretary of State website is sos.state.co.us, and from there you can select “Businesses, trademarks, trade names,” then click on “Search business database.” Now you can run searches to see trademarks, trade names, and business names.

Following these steps will help you go from a broad to narrow perspective in your research, so that you can hone in on what exactly is happening with a particular business name. With all of this new information in hand, you can begin thinking more seriously about what to do next with your business name.

If you have any questions about what your research turned up or if you are ready to take the next step in forming your business or protecting a business name, do not hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, the home of your Denver Business Lawyer, Elizabeth Lewis at 720-258-6647 or email her at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com.

Colorado #8 Top State for Business

by | Jul 1, 2014 | Business News

Colorado Ranks #8 in CNBC’s Top States for Business

The results from CNBC’s ranking of America’s Top States for Business are in.  After analyzing and comparing each state across fifty-six different business metrics, each state was assigned points in ten major categories to determine their ultimate ranking. Colorado came out with a ranking of #8 in the nation overall. You can take a look at the full report here.

Looking at some of the ten primary ranking categories, Colorado received the following rankings.  Colorado ranked first for Access to Capital, which looks at the availability of venture capital and small business loans. For Workforce, which accounts for the quality and availability of workers, it came in 5th. Colorado ranked 8th for Economy, which examined the growth, job creation, and health of the real estate market. Colorado also came in at 9th in Technology & Innovation, which factored in the number of new ideas and capacity to support them within the state, and 12th in Quality of Life, which was scored by looking at crime, healthcare, and recreational considerations.

Colorado was specifically described in CNBC’s report as being “focused on innovation,” having a workforce that is “dynamic” and that capital for businesses was “abundant.” The Centennial State’s strong business performance evidenced by this report shows that there is no better time than the present to start or grow your business right here in Colorado.

If you are ready to get started, you can contact the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Small Business Lawyer, Elizabeth Lewis at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.