Mississippi Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Ashland, Mississippi
Thinking about starting a business in Ashland, Mississippi? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Ashland.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Ashland. 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.
Ashland, Mississippi Demographic Information
Ashland has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Ashland demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Ashland.
Businesses
As a new Ashland entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Ashland 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.
Businesses
What About Franchising Opportunities?
Visit the business district of Ashland and you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. But is franchising the right option for you?
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Growth Trends in Franchising. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Sample franchise opportunities include Cinnzeo and Fiducial Franchises, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Consulting Franchises and Health Franchises.
Note on Ashland Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Ashland, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
Selecting a Name For Your Venture
A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.
Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Ashland, it's very important that you make sure no other Mississippi company is using the business name you want to use.
Company Formation in Ashland, Mississippi
A critical step is ensuring that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Mississippi, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Mississippi. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Corporate Formalities. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Ashland, Mississippi, our information on Incorporating in Mississippi may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Mississippi.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Having a business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Mississippi.
The Art of Selling
Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Ashland or are selling to customers throughout Mississippi, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
The key to selling is to set sales goals goals and monitor your progress towards those goals. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Hiring Telemarketing Firms to Generate Sales Leads is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Ashland. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Ashland and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Ashland, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Ashland, Mississippi
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Ashland.
- Resources for Ashland, Mississippi Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Ashland entrepreneurs.
- Mississippi Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Mississippi.
- Mississippi Small Business Development Center - The Mississippi Small Business Development Centers (MSBDC) is dedicated to helping build and grow businesses in Mississippi. For new entrepreneurs, this is an excellent resource.
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