Starting a Business in Bluefield, West Virginia

Are you starting a business in Bluefield, West Virginia? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a 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
Air Traffic Control	1
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 and Ale Merchant Wholesalers	2
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
Cemeteries and Crematories	3
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 and Software Stores	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
Discount Department Stores	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
Family Clothing Stores	3
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
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	2
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 Centers	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
Landscaping 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
Motorcycle Dealers	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 Dentists	10
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
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	6
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
Roofing Contractors	2
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
Site Preparation Contractors	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
Television Broadcasting	3
Temporary Help Services	1
Tire Dealers	7
Tire Retreading	2
Travel Agencies	1
Used Car Dealers	2
Used Merchandise Stores	2
Veterinary Services	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	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.

• Resources for Bluefield, West Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bluefield 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.
• Bluefield, West Virginia Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Bluefield, West Virginia newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Bluefield area.
• Bluefield, West Virginia Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Bluefield, West Virginia area radio stations.
• Bluefield, West Virginia Payroll Services - This list includes Bluefield, West Virginia payroll services, national payroll services for Bluefield, and helpful information on choosing a Bluefield payroll service.
• Bluefield, West Virginia Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Bluefield, West Virginia, such as business brokers in Bluefield and other helpful information on how to buy a Bluefield business.

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