Contemplating starting a business in Columbia, Tennessee? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Columbia.
Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?
Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Columbia. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- Peruse Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. 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.
Columbia, Tennessee Demographic Information
Columbia has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Columbia demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Columbia.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
24556 |
| 5-9 Employees |
12264 |
| 10-19 Employees |
6468 |
| 20-49 Employees |
5376 |
| 50-99 Employees |
1470 |
| 100-249 Employees |
1008 |
| 250-499 Employees |
42 |
| 500-999 Employees |
84 |
| 1000+ Employees |
42 |
| All Columbia Businesses |
51310 |
As a new Columbia entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Columbia 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 |
| Adhesive Manufacturing |
1 |
| Advertising Agencies |
3 |
| Amusement Arcades |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Apprenticeship Training |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
2 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
3 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
9 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
2 |
| Beauty Salons |
9 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
8 |
| Book Stores |
2 |
| Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
1 |
| Business Associations |
4 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Car Washes |
4 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
3 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cement Manufacturing |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
3 |
| Child and Youth Services |
2 |
| Child Day Care Services |
17 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
6 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
2 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Collection Agencies |
3 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Community Food Services |
2 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Computer Facilities Management Services |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
| Construction Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
9 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
6 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
1 |
| Couriers |
3 |
| Credit Bureaus |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
3 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
2 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
3 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
2 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
7 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
3 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
5 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
2 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
3 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
4 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
2 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
5 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
4 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
5 |
| Florists |
4 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
2 |
| Food Service Contractors |
5 |
| Framing Contractors |
3 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
31 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
3 |
| Furniture Stores |
6 |
| General Automotive Repair |
9 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
2 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
6 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
2 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal |
1 |
| Historical Sites |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
2 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
27 |
| Interior Design Services |
2 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
7 |
| Jewelry Stores |
6 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
14 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
44 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
4 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
4 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
4 |
| Media Representatives |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
2 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
8 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
5 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
5 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
12 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
6 |
| Offices of Dentists |
24 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
26 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
5 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
3 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
4 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
3 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
2 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Periodical Publishers |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
2 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
8 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Plate Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Portfolio Management |
2 |
| Professional Organizations |
3 |
| Radio Stations |
2 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
8 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
1 |
| Reinsurance Carriers |
2 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Repossession Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
3 |
| Residential Remodelers |
2 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
3 |
| Securities Brokerage |
4 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
1 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
3 |
| Siding Contractors |
3 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
9 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
6 |
| Software Publishers |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
2 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
5 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
4 |
| Telemarketing Bureaus |
2 |
| Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
6 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
7 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
5 |
| Tobacco Stores |
5 |
| Used Car Dealers |
8 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
3 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
6 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
6 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
6 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
1 |
What About Buying an Existing Columbia Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Tennessee. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Columbia.
If you are intent on buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Forming a Company in Columbia, Tennessee
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
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. If you are starting a business in Tennessee, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Tennessee. As it turns out, you can incorporate wherever you want. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.
There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as LLC Advantages. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Columbia, Tennessee, our information on Incorporating in Tennessee may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Tennessee.
Letting the World Know You Exist
To rise above the crowd in Columbia and advance your business, you need a great marketing plan.
You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Seven Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities
Good entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Columbia, Tennessee, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Tennessee universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking organizations for Columbia entrepreneurs.
Now It's Up To You
As an entrepreneur in Columbia, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Columbia and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Columbia, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Columbia, Tennessee
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Columbia.
- Resources for Columbia, Tennessee Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Columbia entrepreneurs.
- Tennessee Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Tennessee.
- Tennessee Small Business Development Center - If you are a small business owner, entrepreneur or you are thinking about starting a new business, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) is ready to help you every step of the way!
- Columbia, Tennessee Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Columbia, Tennessee newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Columbia area.
- Columbia, Tennessee Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Columbia, Tennessee area radio stations.
- Columbia, Tennessee Payroll Services - This list includes Columbia, Tennessee payroll services, national payroll services for Columbia, and helpful information on choosing a Columbia payroll service.
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