Are you starting a business in Athens, Alabama? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Athens.
Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?
Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you certain you are ready to take on this challenge?
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Athens. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- Take a look at Starting a Company. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Talk it over with a close friend or partner. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
What Business Are You Starting?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Computer Hardware & Supplies Business guide or our Starting a Cotton & Cotton Goods Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Athens. Some businesses will do better in Athens than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Athens demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Athens, Alabama Demographic Information
Athens has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Athens demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Athens.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
17556 |
| 5-9 Employees |
6633 |
| 10-19 Employees |
4356 |
| 20-49 Employees |
2013 |
| 50-99 Employees |
759 |
| 100-249 Employees |
231 |
| 250-499 Employees |
66 |
| 500-999 Employees |
99 |
| 1000+ Employees |
33 |
| All Athens Businesses |
31746 |
As a new Athens entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Athens 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 |
|
Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
9 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
3 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
|
Beauty Salons |
16 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Boat Dealers |
2 |
| Book Stores |
5 |
| Building Inspection Services |
2 |
| Business Associations |
2 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
2 |
| Canvas and Related Product Mills |
1 |
|
Car Washes |
4 |
| Cement Manufacturing |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
3 |
| Child Day Care Services |
12 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
2 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
|
Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
4 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
9 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
3 |
| Convenience Stores |
8 |
|
Copper Wire (except Mechanical) Drawing |
1 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Court Reporting and Stenotype Services |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
5 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
5 |
| Dental Laboratories |
4 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
|
Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
2 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
5 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
3 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Facilities Support Services |
1 |
|
Family Clothing Stores |
4 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
5 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
5 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
2 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
|
Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Framing Contractors |
4 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
19 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
7 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
8 |
| General Automotive Repair |
3 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
|
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
2 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Hardware Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
|
Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
2 |
| Home Health Care Services |
2 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Ice Manufacturing |
1 |
| Industrial Gas Manufacturing |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
|
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
16 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
6 |
| Jewelry Stores |
5 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
13 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
|
Limited-Service Restaurants |
32 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Logging |
2 |
| Machine Shops |
5 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
2 |
| Marinas |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
6 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
2 |
|
Metal Heat Treating |
1 |
| Metal Stamping |
2 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
2 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
2 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
2 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Musical Groups and Artists |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
4 |
|
Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Office Administrative Services |
4 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
10 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
7 |
| Offices of Dentists |
15 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
19 |
|
Offices of Optometrists |
6 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Packaging and Labeling Services |
1 |
| Paint and Coating Manufacturing |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
3 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
|
Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
6 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
5 |
| Political Organizations |
1 |
| Poultry Processing |
1 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
|
Radio Stations |
2 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Residential Property Managers |
4 |
| Residential Remodelers |
10 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
2 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
|
Sawmills |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
5 |
| Shoe Stores |
3 |
| Siding Contractors |
3 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
2 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
2 |
|
Sporting Goods Stores |
4 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
4 |
| Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Testing Laboratories |
1 |
| Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
5 |
|
Tobacco Stores |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
9 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
4 |
| Veterinary Services |
4 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
5 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
|
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
6 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Wood Preservation |
1 |
Forming a Company in Athens, Alabama
It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will protect 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.
Incorporation is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Alabama, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Alabama. As it turns out, you are allowed to 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 are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Athens, Alabama, our information on Incorporating in Alabama may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Alabama.
Marketing Your New Business
To rise above the crowd in Athens and build your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Local Search is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
How to Sell
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Athens business, you need to focus on sales.
The key to selling is to set sales goals goals and monitor your progress towards those goals. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Selling Products on eBay is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
Never Give Up
As an entrepreneur in Athens, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Athens businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Athens 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 Athens, Alabama
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Athens.
- Resources for Athens, Alabama Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Athens entrepreneurs.
- Alabama Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Alabama.
- Alabama Small Business Development Center - Alabama's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counsels and trains business people in a wide variety of business topics and provides comprehensive information services and access to experts in many fields. Counseling is provided free of charge to all Alabama small business owners.
- Athens, Alabama Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Athens, Alabama newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Athens area.
- Athens, Alabama Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Athens, Alabama area radio stations.
- Athens, Alabama Payroll Services - This list includes Athens, Alabama payroll services, national payroll services for Athens, and helpful information on choosing a Athens payroll service.
- Athens, Alabama Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Athens, Alabama, such as business brokers in Athens and other helpful information on how to buy a Athens business.
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