Open a Business in Athens, Tennessee

Contemplating starting a business in Athens, Tennessee? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Athens.

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Finding Your Niche in Life.

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 an Identification Jewelry Business guide or our Starting a Meats Business guide.

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

Athens, Tennessee 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	9999
5-9 Employees	5016
10-19 Employees	3069
20-49 Employees	2244
50-99 Employees	792
100-249 Employees	330
250-499 Employees	99
500-999 Employees	132
1000+ Employees	0
All Athens Businesses	21681

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
Art Dealers	1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	7
Automotive Transmission Repair	1
Beauty Salons	3
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Book Stores	1
Bowling Centers	1
Building Inspection Services	1
Business Associations	1
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Car Washes	2
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Child and Youth Services	2
Child Day Care Services	3
Civic and Social Organizations	4
Clothing Accessories Stores	1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	2
Community Food Services	1
Computer Systems Design Services	3
Concrete Pipe Manufacturing	1
Confectionery and Nut Stores	1
Consumer Lending	10
Convenience Stores	3
Couriers	1
Credit Unions	4
Dental Laboratories	1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers	1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers	1
Discount Department Stores	2
Educational Support Services	1
Electrical Contractors	1
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Employment Placement Agencies	1
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Exam Preparation and Tutoring	1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	2
Facilities Support Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	3
Family Planning Centers	2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Floor Covering Stores	3
Florists	1
Fluid Milk Manufacturing	1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	3
Food Service Contractors	1
Freight Transportation Arrangement	1
Full-Service Restaurants	14
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	3
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	3
General Freight Trucking, Local	2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
General Rental Centers	3
General Warehousing and Storage	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	4
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	4
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers	1
Hardware Stores	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	2
Home Centers	1
Home Health Care Services	2
Home Health Equipment Rental	2
Homes for the Elderly	1
Household Appliance Stores	2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	15
Janitorial Services	2
Jewelry Stores	3
Kidney Dialysis Centers	1
Landscaping Services	5
Libraries and Archives	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	27
Logging	5
Machine Shops	2
Mail-Order Houses	1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	5
Mattress Manufacturing	1
Media Representatives	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
Motor Vehicle Metal Stamping	1
Motorcycle Dealers	2
Museums	2
Musical Instrument Manufacturing	1
New Car Dealers	4
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	2
Office Administrative Services	1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	5
Offices of Chiropractors	6
Offices of Dentists	12
Offices of Lawyers	11
Offices of Optometrists	4
Offices of Podiatrists	2
Optical Goods Stores	1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	7
Photography Studios, Portrait	2
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing	2
Private Mail Centers	1
Public Relations Agencies	1
Radio Stations	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	1
Real Estate Credit	4
Residential Property Managers	2
Residential Remodelers	2
Retail Bakeries	2
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	1
Savings Institutions	2
Sawmills	2
Scheduled Freight Air Transportation	1
Securities Brokerage	2
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Shoe Stores	1
Sign Manufacturing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	1
Solid Waste Collection	1
Solid Waste Landfill	1
Sporting Goods Stores	3
Sports and Recreation Instruction	2
Tax Preparation Services	2
Temporary Help Services	4
Timber Tract Operations	1
Tire Dealers	2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	1
Travel Agencies	1
Truck Trailer Manufacturing	1
Used Car Dealers	4
Used Household and Office Goods Moving	1
Used Merchandise Stores	2
Veterinary Services	4
Video Tape and Disc Rental	4
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	2
Women's Clothing Stores	4
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing	1

Is Franchising a Better Option?

Visit the business district of Athens and it becomes clear that purchasing a franchise is a common way to get started as an entrepreneur. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Understanding Franchise Contracts. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include The Human Bean and Wellesley Inns & Suites Franchising, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Bagel Franchises and eBay Franchises.

Note on Athens Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Athens.

Forming a Company in Athens, Tennessee

A critical step is ensuring that you form your business as a legal structure. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporation 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. If you are starting a business in Tennessee, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Tennessee. As it turns out, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Nevada Incorporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Athens, Tennessee, our information on Incorporating in Tennessee may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Tennessee.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Having a business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Tennessee.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

The best entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.

With your business being located in Athens, Tennessee, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Tennessee universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Athens entrepreneurs.

What's Next?

Most new Athens 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.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Athens and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Athens, Tennessee

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

• Resources for Athens, Tennessee Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Athens entrepreneurs.
• Tennessee Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Tennessee.
• Tennessee Small Business Development Center - If you are a small business owner, entrepreneur or you are thinking about starting a new business, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) is ready to help you every step of the way!
• Athens, Tennessee Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Athens, Tennessee newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Athens area.
• Athens, Tennessee Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Athens, Tennessee area radio stations.
• Athens, Tennessee Payroll Services - This list includes Athens, Tennessee payroll services, national payroll services for Athens, and helpful information on choosing a Athens payroll service.
• Athens, Tennessee Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Athens, Tennessee, such as business brokers in Athens and other helpful information on how to buy a Athens business.

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