West Virginia Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Bluefield, West Virginia

Thinking about starting a business in Bluefield, West Virginia? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Bluefield.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Finding Your Niche in Life.

To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Vending Machines Wholesale & Manufacturer guide or our Starting a Medical Office Buildings Management Business guide.

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

Bluefield, West Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1644
5-9 Employees
882
10-19 Employees
546
20-49 Employees
306
50-99 Employees
120
100-249 Employees
36
250-499 Employees
18
500-999 Employees
6
1000+ Employees
0
All Bluefield Businesses
3558

As a new Bluefield entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bluefield 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
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Beauty Salons
9
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Book Stores
4
Bowling Centers
2
Business Associations
3
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
1
Car Washes
2
Child Day Care Services
3
Civic and Social Organizations
7
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Bakeries
1
Commercial Photography
1
Commercial Screen Printing
2
Computer Facilities Management Services
1
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Consumer Lending
2
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Credit Unions
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Display Advertising
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4
Educational Support Services
2
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
4
Engineering Services
3
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
2
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Framing Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
9
Furniture Stores
6
General Automotive Repair
5
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
5
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Stores
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
3
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Hydroelectric Power Generation
1
Industrial Building Construction
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
14
Jewelry Stores
5
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
3
Limited-Service Restaurants
14
Machine Shops
6
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
4
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
5
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
7
Offices of Lawyers
15
Offices of Optometrists
4
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Optical Goods Stores
2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Professional Organizations
1
Radio Stations
2
Real Estate Credit
1
Residential Property Managers
2
Residential Remodelers
6
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
1
Securities Brokerage
3
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sewage Treatment Facilities
1
Shoe Stores
5
Siding Contractors
3
Sign Manufacturing
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sporting Goods Stores
3
Sports Teams and Clubs
1
Tax Preparation Services
3
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Tire Dealers
7
Tire Retreading
2
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Veterinary Services
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
5
Women's Clothing Stores
6

What About Buying an Existing Bluefield Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in West Virginia. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Bluefield.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Buying a Business.

Forming a Company in Bluefield, West Virginia

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. 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.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in West Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in West Virginia. As it turns out, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Corporate Formalities. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Bluefield, West Virginia, our information on Incorporating in West Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in West Virginia.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Getting your Bluefield business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. 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 Attracting Investors.

For Bluefield entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, we have assembled a List of West Virginia Angel Investors and our List of West Virginia Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Company

To grow your Bluefield business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Advertising in Magazines is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Bring in Revenues

Being able to sell is fundamental to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Bluefield or are selling to customers throughout West Virginia, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Closing Sales Techniques 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 Bluefield. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Bluefield and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Bluefield, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Bluefield, West Virginia

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

More Startup Articles for West Virginia Cities

Starting a Business in Berkeley Springs
Starting a Business in Bridgeport

Browse All Business Startup Guides for West Virginia
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary