Start a Business in Abbeville, Louisiana

Thinking about starting a business in Abbeville, Louisiana? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Abbeville.

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Most new businesses do not succeed, in part because the business owner did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Abbeville. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
• We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

What Business to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Good Business Ideas.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start an Exotic Body Art Business guide or our Opening a Social Companion Services Business guide.

Remember that you are starting a business in Abbeville. Some businesses will do better in Abbeville than others. Study Abbeville demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Abbeville, Louisiana Demographic Information

Abbeville has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for Abbeville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Abbeville.

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	4640
5-9 Employees	1725
10-19 Employees	1125
20-49 Employees	705
50-99 Employees	285
100-249 Employees	60
250-499 Employees	30
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Abbeville Businesses	8570

As a new Abbeville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Abbeville for each business category. By looking at this chart, you can get a general sense for how much competition there is in the business niche that you are pursuing.

Business Type	# of Businesses
Advertising Agencies	1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance	2
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	6
Automotive Transmission Repair	1
Baked Goods Stores	1
Beauty Salons	5
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Boat Dealers	2
Book Stores	1
Building Inspection Services	1
Business Associations	4
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Cafeterias	2
Car Washes	3
Caterers	1
Child Day Care Services	8
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores	2
Civic and Social Organizations	4
Collection Agencies	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Community Food Services	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Consumer Lending	11
Convenience Stores	3
Credit Unions	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers	1
Dried and Dehydrated Food Manufacturing	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	4
Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	2
Electrical Contractors	3
Elementary and Secondary Schools	2
Engineering Services	4
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	2
Family Clothing Stores	2
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	1
Fish and Seafood Markets	2
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers	3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Floor Covering Stores	1
Florists	3
Fresh and Frozen Seafood Processing	2
Fruit and Vegetable Markets	1
Full-Service Restaurants	18
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	5
General Freight Trucking, Local	2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
General Warehousing and Storage	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	4
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Hardware Stores	3
Home Centers	1
Home Health Care Services	2
Household Appliance Stores	2
Ice Manufacturing	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	10
Interior Design Services	2
Investment Advice	1
Janitorial Services	2
Jewelry Stores	1
Kidney Dialysis Centers	1
Land Subdivision	2
Landscaping Services	3
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	2
Limited-Service Restaurants	13
Machine Shops	3
Marinas	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Meat Markets	4
Medical Laboratories	1
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Miscellaneous Intermediation	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
Museums	1
Natural Gas Liquid Extraction	2
New Car Dealers	4
New Housing Operative Builders	2
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	8
Offices of Chiropractors	4
Offices of Dentists	4
Offices of Lawyers	30
Offices of Optometrists	3
Optical Goods Stores	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	5
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	6
Photography Studios, Portrait	2
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas	1
Port and Harbor Operations	1
Quick Printing	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	3
Real Estate Credit	1
Residential Remodelers	1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	1
Savings Institutions	1
Seafood Canning	1
Securities Brokerage	3
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing	2
Shellfish Fishing	2
Ship Building and Repairing	2
Shoe Stores	2
Site Preparation Contractors	3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	2
Solid Waste Collection	1
Sporting Goods Stores	2
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Sugarcane Mills	1
Tax Preparation Services	3
Telemarketing Bureaus	1
Temporary Help Services	1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters	1
Tire Dealers	2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	2
Tobacco Stores	2
Used Car Dealers	3
Used Merchandise Stores	1
Veterinary Services	5
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	2
Women's Clothing Stores	1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Abbeville Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Louisiana. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Abbeville.

If you are intent on buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Marketing Your New Business

Whether your goal is to attract Abbeville customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your beating the competition.

You can learn all about marketing on our site. Introduction to Advertising discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Sell

Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Abbeville business to do well.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Selling Products on eBay offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Successful entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Abbeville, Louisiana, you should check out some of the many programs available at nearby Louisiana universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking organizations for Abbeville entrepreneurs.

What's Next?

Most new Abbeville businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

We are here to help Abbeville businesses to be successful. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Abbeville, Louisiana

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Abbeville.

• Resources for Abbeville, Louisiana Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Abbeville entrepreneurs.
• Louisiana Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Louisiana.
• Louisiana Small Business Development Center - The Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC Network) provides low- or no-cost guidance and training for small business owners and potential owners.
• Abbeville, Louisiana Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Abbeville, Louisiana newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Abbeville area.

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