Thinking about starting a business in Barbourville, Kentucky? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Barbourville.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Most new ventures don't make it, in part because the founder did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Before you move forward with starting a business, be sure to do these three things:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Barbourville. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Choosing the Right Company to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Foam Insulation Business guide or our Opening a Glass Rods & Tubing Business guide.
Don't forget that you are opening your new business in Barbourville. Some businesses will do better in Barbourville than others. A critical consideration is whether Barbourville demographics mesh well with your startup concept.
Barbourville, Kentucky Demographic Information
Barbourville has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Barbourville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Barbourville.
| Business Size | # of Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
459 |
| 5-9 Employees |
159 |
| 10-19 Employees |
117 |
| 20-49 Employees |
66 |
| 50-99 Employees |
9 |
| 100-249 Employees |
18 |
| 250-499 Employees |
3 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Barbourville Businesses |
831 |
As a new Barbourville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Barbourville 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 |
| Adhesive Manufacturing |
1 |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
4 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Bituminous Coal Underground Mining |
5 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
12 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
4 |
| Convenience Stores |
1 |
| Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
2 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Explosives Manufacturing |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
2 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
6 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
1 |
| General Automotive Repair |
1 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
5 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
7 |
| Janitorial Services |
2 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
17 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Marinas |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
2 |
| Offices of Dentists |
8 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
16 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
3 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
6 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
5 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
1 |
| Tire Retreading |
1 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
3 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
1 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
1 |
Should You Buy an Existing Barbourville Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Kentucky. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Barbourville.
If you are going to be buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.
Choosing a Company Name
Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.
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.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Barbourville, it's imperative that you check now that no other Kentucky company is using the business name you want to use.
The Art of Selling
Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Barbourville business to do well.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Landing Big Customers 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 Barbourville businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Barbourville and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Barbourville, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Barbourville, Kentucky
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Barbourville.
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