Starting a Business in Clarksville, Arkansas

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

Before you get too far along in the process, assess 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 Clarksville. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful 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. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

What Business to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Free Business Ideas.

For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Blinds Installation, Cleaning, & Repair Business guide or our Starting a Soil Conditioners Business guide.

Don't forget that your new startup will be located in Clarksville. Some businesses will do better in Clarksville than others. A critical consideration is whether Clarksville demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Clarksville, Arkansas Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	5000
5-9 Employees	2160
10-19 Employees	1200
20-49 Employees	810
50-99 Employees	240
100-249 Employees	60
250-499 Employees	90
500-999 Employees	60
1000+ Employees	30
All Clarksville Businesses	9650

As a new Clarksville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Clarksville 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
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	4
Beauty Salons	1
Book Stores	1
Business Associations	2
Car Washes	1
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Child Day Care Services	2
Civic and Social Organizations	2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Computer and Software Stores	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing	1
Drafting Services	1
Electrical Contractors	1
Electronic Shopping	1
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Engineering Services	2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	1
Family Planning Centers	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Florists	3
Food Service Contractors	1
Framing Contractors	1
Freight Transportation Arrangement	1
Full-Service Restaurants	11
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	2
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Hardware Stores	3
Home Centers	1
Home Health Care Services	2
Home Health Equipment Rental	1
Homes for the Elderly	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	7
Janitorial Services	4
Jewelry Stores	1
Landscaping Services	2
Language Schools	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	13
Logging	1
Machine Shops	3
Mail-Order Houses	2
Motor and Generator Manufacturing	1
Motor Home Manufacturing	1
Motorcycle Dealers	1
Natural Gas Distribution	1
New Car Dealers	2
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Administrative Services	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Chiropractors	2
Offices of Dentists	6
Offices of Lawyers	6
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Other Holding Companies	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	3
Photography Studios, Portrait	2
Polystyrene Foam Product Manufacturing	1
Poultry Processing	1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing	1
Radio Networks	1
Radio Stations	2
Rendering and Meat Byproduct Processing	1
Securities Brokerage	1
Sheer Hosiery Mills	1
Shoe Stores	2
Site Preparation Contractors	2
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Support Activities for Forestry	1
Tax Preparation Services	2
Temporary Help Services	1
Tire Dealers	3
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	1
Tobacco Stores	1
Truss Manufacturing	1
Used Car Dealers	3
Veterinary Services	3
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems	2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing	1

Company Formation in Clarksville, Arkansas

It's essential that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. 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.

Incorporation 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. Just because you are starting a business in Arkansas, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Arkansas. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Piercing the Corporate Veil. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Clarksville, Arkansas, our information on Incorporating in Arkansas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Arkansas.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your Clarksville business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Attracting Investors.

For Clarksville entrepreneurs who need startup capital, browse our List of Arkansas Angel Investors and our List of Arkansas Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Startup

To rise above the crowd in Clarksville and build your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Telemarketing Service 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.

How to Sell

Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Clarksville or are selling to customers throughout Arkansas, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Tips on Customer Referrals offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Clarksville. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Clarksville businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Clarksville entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Clarksville, Arkansas

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

• Resources for Clarksville, Arkansas Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Clarksville entrepreneurs.
• Arkansas Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Arkansas.
• Arkansas Small Business Development Center - The Arkansas Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) is a University-based economic development program which provides assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout Arkansas via a statewide network of seven offices.
• Clarksville, Arkansas Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Clarksville, Arkansas newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Clarksville area.
• Clarksville, Arkansas Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Clarksville, Arkansas area radio stations.

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Arkansas
Starting a Business in Charleston
Starting a Business in Clinton

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Arkansas