Contemplating starting a business in Bristol, Virginia? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Bristol.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Before quitting your day job, take inventory of 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 Bristol. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being 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. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Bristol, Virginia Demographic Information
Bristol has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Bristol demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Bristol.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
10341 |
| 5-9 Employees |
5319 |
| 10-19 Employees |
2835 |
| 20-49 Employees |
2349 |
| 50-99 Employees |
945 |
| 100-249 Employees |
432 |
| 250-499 Employees |
189 |
| 500-999 Employees |
54 |
| 1000+ Employees |
27 |
| All Bristol Businesses |
22491 |
As a new Bristol entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bristol 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 |
| Aluminum Die-Casting Foundries |
1 |
| Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting) |
1 |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Amusement Arcades |
1 |
| Anthracite Mining |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
2 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
12 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
10 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Bituminous Coal Underground Mining |
1 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
3 |
| Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
6 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
3 |
| Claims Adjusting |
2 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
3 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
2 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
3 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
3 |
| Construction Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
7 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
1 |
| Couriers |
2 |
| Credit Unions |
4 |
| Curtain and Drapery Mills |
1 |
| Dance Companies |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
2 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
4 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
3 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
2 |
| Facilities Support Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
1 |
| Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
1 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
2 |
| Florists |
5 |
| Fluid Milk Manufacturing |
1 |
| Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing |
1 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
2 |
| Formal Wear and Costume Rental |
1 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
28 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
1 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
4 |
| General Automotive Repair |
11 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
2 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
12 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
2 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
3 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
3 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
2 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
2 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
2 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
3 |
| Ice Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
16 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Iron and Steel Mills |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
5 |
| Jewelry Stores |
11 |
| Landscaping Services |
4 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
29 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
1 |
| Logging |
1 |
| Luggage and Leather Goods Stores |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
6 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
4 |
| Marine Cargo Handling |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
2 |
| Materials Recovery Facilities |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Metal Can Manufacturing |
1 |
| Metal Stamping |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
3 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
3 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
2 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
6 |
| Offices of Dentists |
6 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
23 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Other Holding Companies |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| One-Hour Photofinishing |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
4 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
2 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
4 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
2 |
| Radio Stations |
2 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
3 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Real Estate Investment Trusts |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
8 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
3 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
3 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
5 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
8 |
| Software Publishers |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
4 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Storage Battery Manufacturing |
2 |
| Support Activities for Coal Mining |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
3 |
| Telecommunications Resellers |
1 |
| Telemarketing Bureaus |
1 |
| Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Television Broadcasting |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
3 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
2 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
2 |
| Tobacco Stores |
3 |
| Tour Operators |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
1 |
| Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing |
1 |
| Truck Trailer Manufacturing |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
7 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
2 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
1 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
4 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
4 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
1 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Bristol Business?
We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Virginia. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Bristol.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Selecting a Name For Your Business
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.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Bristol, it's very important that you make sure no other Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.
Marketing Your New Startup
Whether your goal is to attract Bristol customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your successs.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Billboard Advertising Costs is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
The Art of Selling
Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Bristol or are selling to customers throughout Virginia, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Sales Forecasting 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.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Bristol. 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 Bristol and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Bristol, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Bristol, Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Bristol.
- Resources for Bristol, Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bristol entrepreneurs.
- Virginia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Virginia.
- Virginia Small Business Development Center - Virginia Small Business Development Centers offer professional business counseling, training and information resources to help grow and strengthen Virginia businesses.
- Bristol, Virginia Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Bristol, Virginia newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Bristol area.
- Bristol, Virginia Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Bristol, Virginia area radio stations.
- Bristol, Virginia Payroll Services - This list includes Bristol, Virginia payroll services, national payroll services for Bristol, and helpful information on choosing a Bristol payroll service.
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