Thinking about starting a business in Bennettsville, South Carolina? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Bennettsville.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before you get too far along in the process, consider 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 Bennettsville. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Bennettsville, South Carolina Demographic Information
Bennettsville has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Bennettsville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Bennettsville.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
527 |
| 5-9 Employees |
210 |
| 10-19 Employees |
90 |
| 20-49 Employees |
69 |
| 50-99 Employees |
15 |
| 100-249 Employees |
27 |
| 250-499 Employees |
6 |
| 500-999 Employees |
3 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Bennettsville Businesses |
947 |
As a new Bennettsville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bennettsville 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 |
|
Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
4 |
| Beauty Salons |
1 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Blood and Organ Banks |
1 |
|
Business Associations |
1 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
7 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
4 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
1 |
|
Consumer Lending |
7 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
3 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
2 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
|
Elementary and Secondary Schools |
3 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Farm Product Warehousing and Storage |
2 |
| Fish and Seafood Markets |
3 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
1 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
1 |
|
Florists |
1 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
6 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
4 |
| Furniture Stores |
5 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
3 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
|
Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
3 |
| Human Rights Organizations |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
6 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
|
Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
2 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
10 |
| Logging |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
1 |
|
Materials Recovery Facilities |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
3 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Offices of Bank Holding Companies |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
3 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
2 |
|
Offices of Dentists |
3 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
11 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Paper (except Newsprint) Mills |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
2 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
5 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
|
Repossession Services |
2 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
1 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
2 |
| Sawmills |
2 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
1 |
|
Specialty Canning |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
3 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
| Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
4 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
1 |
|
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
2 |
Choosing a Business Name
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Bennettsville, it's very important that you make sure no other South Carolina company is using the business name you want to use.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in South Carolina.
Marketing Your New Business
To grow your Bennettsville business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Typical Direct Mail Response Rates is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Ramping Up Sales
Being able to sell is essential to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Bennettsville or are selling to customers throughout South Carolina, 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. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Cold Call Selling offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Bennettsville. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Bennettsville and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Bennettsville, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Bennettsville, South Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Bennettsville.
- Resources for Bennettsville, South Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bennettsville entrepreneurs.
- South Carolina Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in South Carolina.
- South Carolina Small Business Development Center - The South Carolina Small Business Development Center provides consulting services to small and medium enterprises through more than 14 locations across the state.
- Bennettsville, South Carolina Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Bennettsville, South Carolina newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Bennettsville area.
- Bennettsville, South Carolina Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Bennettsville, South Carolina area radio stations.
- Bennettsville, South Carolina Payroll Services - This list includes Bennettsville, South Carolina payroll services, national payroll services for Bennettsville, and helpful information on choosing a Bennettsville payroll service.
- Bennettsville, South Carolina Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Bennettsville, South Carolina, such as business brokers in Bennettsville and other helpful information on how to buy a Bennettsville business.
More Business Startup Guides for South Carolina
Starting a Business in Belton
Starting a Business in Bishopville
Browse All
Business Startup Guides for South Carolina
Starting a Business
Guides for Other States
