Thinking about starting a business in Beckley, West Virginia? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Beckley.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
An entrepreneurial life is difficult, and can be orders of magnitude more strenuous than working as an employee. Are you sure 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.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Beckley. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- 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. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Beckley, West Virginia Demographic Information
Beckley has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Beckley demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Beckley.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1651 |
| 5-9 Employees |
732 |
| 10-19 Employees |
542 |
| 20-49 Employees |
366 |
| 50-99 Employees |
120 |
| 100-249 Employees |
69 |
| 250-499 Employees |
9 |
| 500-999 Employees |
9 |
| 1000+ Employees |
3 |
| All Beckley Businesses |
3501 |
As a new Beckley entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Beckley 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 |
| Advertising Agencies |
1 |
| Ambulance Services |
8 |
| Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
3 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
3 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
11 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
8 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Bituminous Coal Underground Mining |
6 |
| Book Stores |
2 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Burial Casket Manufacturing |
1 |
| Business Associations |
2 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
2 |
| Cafeterias |
2 |
| Car Washes |
3 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
2 |
| Child and Youth Services |
3 |
| Child Day Care Services |
6 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
7 |
| Claims Adjusting |
3 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
3 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
2 |
| Consumer Lending |
4 |
| Convenience Stores |
3 |
| Convention and Visitors Bureaus |
1 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
1 |
| Couriers |
3 |
| Court Reporting and Stenotype Services |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
3 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Dance Companies |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
2 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
3 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
3 |
| Document Preparation Services |
2 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
6 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
12 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
2 |
| Engineering Services |
11 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
3 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
7 |
| Flooring Contractors |
3 |
| Florists |
8 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Footwear and Leather Goods Repair |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
26 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
7 |
| Furniture Stores |
9 |
| General Automotive Repair |
10 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
2 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
3 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
3 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
3 |
| Home Health Care Services |
5 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
5 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
2 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
5 |
| Ice Manufacturing |
1 |
| Industrial Building Construction |
3 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
21 |
| Interior Design Services |
4 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
7 |
| Jewelry Stores |
3 |
| Junior Colleges |
3 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
4 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
2 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
38 |
| Limousine Service |
1 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
3 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Logging |
2 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
2 |
| Meat Markets |
2 |
| Medical Laboratories |
3 |
| Motor and Generator Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
3 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
2 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Nail Salons |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
10 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
2 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
2 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
4 |
| Office Administrative Services |
5 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
12 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
6 |
| Offices of Dentists |
22 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
33 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
5 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
2 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| One-Hour Photofinishing |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
4 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
1 |
| Payroll Services |
2 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
2 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
15 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
2 |
| Professional Organizations |
1 |
| Public Relations Agencies |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
7 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
3 |
| Roofing Contractors |
2 |
| Sawmills |
2 |
| Securities Brokerage |
3 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Sewage Treatment Facilities |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
3 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
11 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
1 |
| Solid Waste Landfill |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
5 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
3 |
| Support Activities for Coal Mining |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
3 |
| Telemarketing Bureaus |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
3 |
| Tire Dealers |
4 |
| Tobacco Stores |
3 |
| Used Car Dealers |
11 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
6 |
| Veterinary Services |
2 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
6 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
6 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
4 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Beckley Business?
We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in West Virginia. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Beckley.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Naming the Business
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.
Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Beckley, it's critical that you ensure that no other West Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
A business plan is critical 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 is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in West Virginia.
Marketing Your New Startup
To rise above the crowd in Beckley and build your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your business achieving its goals.
You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Advertising Campaigns is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Beckley, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Beckley and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Beckley, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Beckley, West Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Beckley.
- Resources for Beckley, West Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Beckley entrepreneurs.
- West Virginia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in West Virginia.
- Wisconsin Small Business Development Center - Wisconsin Small Business Development Centers offer a variety of educational services to small-businesses. The low-cost courses, seminars, and workshops cover both basic and complex topics, from marketing to management techniques to business plan development.
- Beckley, West Virginia Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Beckley, West Virginia newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Beckley area.
- Beckley, West Virginia Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Beckley, West Virginia area radio stations.
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