Thinking about starting a business in Abingdon, Virginia? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Abingdon.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Most new ventures don't make it, in part because the founder did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Abingdon. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Abingdon, Virginia Demographic Information
Abingdon has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Abingdon demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Abingdon.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
2840 |
| 5-9 Employees |
1050 |
| 10-19 Employees |
702 |
| 20-49 Employees |
474 |
| 50-99 Employees |
66 |
| 100-249 Employees |
90 |
| 250-499 Employees |
24 |
| 500-999 Employees |
6 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Abingdon Businesses |
5252 |
As a new Abingdon entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Abingdon 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 |
| Aluminum Die-Casting Foundries |
1 |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
3 |
| Art Dealers |
2 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
2 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
6 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
5 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
4 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Bituminous Coal Underground Mining |
1 |
| Blood and Organ Banks |
1 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bottled Water Manufacturing |
1 |
| Business Associations |
2 |
| Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Canvas and Related Product Mills |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cement Manufacturing |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
8 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
3 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
3 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
1 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
3 |
| Convenience Stores |
2 |
| Court Reporting and Stenotype Services |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
4 |
| Custom Roll Forming |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
5 |
| Electronic Shopping |
2 |
| Engineering Services |
4 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Florists |
4 |
| Flour Milling |
1 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
2 |
| Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
19 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
3 |
| Furniture Stores |
4 |
| General Automotive Repair |
12 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
5 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
4 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
5 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
3 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hardware Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
2 |
| Home Health Care Services |
4 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
3 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
10 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
3 |
| Industrial Building Construction |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
20 |
| Interior Design Services |
2 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investigation Services |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
2 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Land Subdivision |
3 |
| Landscaping Services |
17 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
30 |
| Livestock Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Logging |
3 |
| Machine Shops |
4 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
2 |
| Marinas |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
4 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Metal Stamping |
1 |
| Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
4 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
1 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
2 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Office Administrative Services |
4 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
7 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
3 |
| Offices of Dentists |
16 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
31 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Other Holding Companies |
1 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Packaging and Labeling Services |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
3 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
2 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
8 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
1 |
| Plastics Bottle Manufacturing |
1 |
| Political Organizations |
1 |
| Portfolio Management |
5 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
1 |
| Public Relations Agencies |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
1 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
9 |
| Roofing Contractors |
3 |
| Securities Brokerage |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
4 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
5 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
2 |
| Support Activities for Coal Mining |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
4 |
| Television Broadcasting |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
6 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
5 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
4 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
3 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
5 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
1 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Abingdon Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Virginia. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Abingdon.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Naming the Company
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.
On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Abingdon, it's imperative that you check now that you will be the only Virginia company using the business name you have chosen.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Outsourcing. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Virginia.
Raising Capital for Your Company
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Abingdon business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
On the bright side, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Find Start-Up Capital.
For Abingdon entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of Virginia Angel Investors and our List of Virginia Venture Capital Firms.
Building Up Your Sales
Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Abingdon business to do well.
Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Anticipating Prospect Responses offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Next Steps
Most new Abingdon businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Abingdon businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Abingdon entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Abingdon, Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Abingdon.
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