Start a Business in Benton, Kentucky

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

What Business to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 Starting a Lighting Consultants & Designers Business guide or our Starting a Scanning Services Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in Benton. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Benton. Don't forget to review Benton demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Benton, Kentucky Demographic Information

Benton has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for Benton demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Benton.

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	6655
5-9 Employees	3003
10-19 Employees	1617
20-49 Employees	1122
50-99 Employees	231
100-249 Employees	165
250-499 Employees	33
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Benton Businesses	12826

As a new Benton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Benton 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
Amusement Arcades	1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance	1
Architectural Services	1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	4
Boat Dealers	1
Business Associations	2
Cable and Other Program Distribution	2
Cafeterias	2
Car Washes	2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Caterers	1
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Child Day Care Services	3
Civic and Social Organizations	2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	2
Community Food Services	1
Confectionery and Nut Stores	1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities	1
Convenience Stores	2
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers	1
Display Advertising	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	2
Electrical Contractors	5
Engineering Services	1
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Family Planning Centers	1
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Flooring Contractors	1
Florists	3
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers	1
Framing Contractors	2
Full-Service Restaurants	12
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	2
Furniture Stores	4
General Automotive Repair	2
General Freight Trucking, Local	2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Hardware Stores	2
Heavy Duty Truck Manufacturing	1
Home Health Care Services	2
Household Appliance Stores	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	10
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting	1
Janitorial Services	2
Jewelry Stores	1
Land Subdivision	1
Landscaping Services	6
Limited-Service Restaurants	17
Logging	1
Mail-Order Houses	1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	3
Marinas	1
Masonry Contractors	5
New Car Dealers	3
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	2
Offices of Chiropractors	2
Offices of Dentists	5
Offices of Lawyers	8
Offices of Optometrists	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	4
Photography Studios, Portrait	2
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas	1
Radio Stations	1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers	1
Residential Property Managers	1
Residential Remodelers	3
Roofing Contractors	2
Savings Institutions	1
Sawmills	1
Securities Brokerage	3
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Siding Contractors	1
Sign Manufacturing	1
Software Publishers	1
Sporting Goods Stores	2
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Tax Preparation Services	1
Temporary Help Services	1
Tire Dealers	2
Truss Manufacturing	1
Used Car Dealers	4
Used Merchandise Stores	1
Vending Machine Operators	1
Veterinary Services	2
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	2
Women's Clothing Stores	1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing	1

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Reasons to Write a Business Plan. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Kentucky.

Startup Financing Basics

Getting your Benton business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Borrowing Money from Friends and Family.

For Benton entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, you'll want to take a look at our List of Kentucky Angel Investors and our List of Kentucky Venture Capital Firms.

Promoting Your New Startup

To rise above the crowd in Benton and build your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Yellow Pages Advertising Advice is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Selling Tips

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Benton business, you need to focus on sales.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Anticipating Prospect Responses 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.

Now It's Up To You

As an entrepreneur in Benton, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Benton 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 Benton, Kentucky

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

• Resources for Benton, Kentucky Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Benton entrepreneurs.
• Kentucky Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Kentucky.
• Kentucky Small Business Development Center - The Kentucky Small Business Development Center (KSBDC) has been assisting Kentucky small business community for more than 25 years. KSBDC is co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and is administered by the University of Kentucky in partnership with regional universities, community and private colleges, and the private sector.
• Benton, Kentucky Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Benton, Kentucky newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Benton area.
• Benton, Kentucky Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Benton, Kentucky area radio stations.

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