Thinking about starting a business in Columbus, Mississippi? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Columbus.
Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?
Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Columbus. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- You should read Starting a Company. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Talk it over with a close friend or partner. 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.
Which Business to Choose?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
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 Opening an Educational Testing Service guide or our Opening a Geriatric Care Nursing Homes Business guide.
Remember that you are opening your new business in Columbus. If Columbus already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Only by spending some time analyzing Columbus demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Columbus, Mississippi Demographic Information
Columbus has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Columbus demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Columbus.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
30772 |
| 5-9 Employees |
14868 |
| 10-19 Employees |
9282 |
| 20-49 Employees |
5376 |
| 50-99 Employees |
2394 |
| 100-249 Employees |
714 |
| 250-499 Employees |
252 |
| 500-999 Employees |
126 |
| 1000+ Employees |
42 |
| All Columbus Businesses |
63826 |
As a new Columbus entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Columbus 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 |
| Advertising Agencies |
1 |
| Air Traffic Control |
1 |
| Amusement Arcades |
2 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
2 |
| Architectural Services |
3 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
3 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
4 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
17 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
2 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
15 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
10 |
| Boat Dealers |
2 |
| Book Publishers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
3 |
| Business Associations |
4 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
4 |
| Car Washes |
3 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
2 |
| Caterers |
3 |
| Child Day Care Services |
26 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
10 |
| Claims Adjusting |
1 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
2 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Commercial Photography |
1 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Computer Facilities Management Services |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
2 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
3 |
| Consumer Lending |
7 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
4 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
1 |
| Couriers |
5 |
| Credit Unions |
8 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
3 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
5 |
| Directory and Mailing List Publishers |
2 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Display Advertising |
1 |
| Drafting Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
4 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
2 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
17 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
4 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
5 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
2 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
2 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
3 |
| Facilities Support Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
13 |
| Family Planning Centers |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
5 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
4 |
| Flight Training |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
5 |
| Flooring Contractors |
3 |
| Florists |
6 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
3 |
| Food Service Contractors |
4 |
| Formal Wear and Costume Rental |
1 |
| Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation |
1 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
35 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
5 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
4 |
| Furniture Stores |
6 |
| General Automotive Repair |
14 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
5 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
2 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
6 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
2 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
3 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Historical Sites |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
2 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
4 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
5 |
| Human Rights Organizations |
1 |
| Ice Manufacturing |
1 |
| Industrial Building Construction |
3 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Industrial Sand Mining |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
38 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Iron and Steel Mills |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
11 |
| Jewelry Stores |
7 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
9 |
| Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing |
1 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
4 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
39 |
| Locksmiths |
2 |
| Logging |
6 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
3 |
| Marinas |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
3 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
2 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
5 |
| Metal Stamping |
1 |
| Mineral Wool Manufacturing |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
2 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
2 |
| Motor and Generator Manufacturing |
3 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
2 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Nail Salons |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| Navigational Services to Shipping |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
7 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
2 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
2 |
| Nonwoven Fabric Mills |
2 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
3 |
| Office Administrative Services |
4 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
5 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
3 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
10 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
3 |
| Offices of Dentists |
26 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
32 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
5 |
| Offices of Other Holding Companies |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
2 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Paint and Coating Manufacturing |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
3 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
5 |
| Parking Lots and Garages |
1 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Periodical Publishers |
2 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
5 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
11 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
7 |
| Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas |
2 |
| Plate Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Professional Organizations |
1 |
| Pulp Mills |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
2 |
| Radio Stations |
4 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
3 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
4 |
| Residential Remodelers |
7 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
10 |
| Sawmills |
2 |
| Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
4 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
3 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
2 |
| Sewage Treatment Facilities |
2 |
| Shoe Stores |
6 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
8 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
4 |
| Software Publishers |
2 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
2 |
| Special Needs Transportation |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
4 |
| Steel Investment Foundries |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
8 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
| Television Broadcasting |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
3 |
| Testing Laboratories |
2 |
| Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
5 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
3 |
| Tobacco Stores |
3 |
| Travel Agencies |
1 |
| Truss Manufacturing |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
12 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
4 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
4 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
4 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
6 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
2 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
5 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
3 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
3 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
11 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
3 |
| Zoos and Botanical Gardens |
1 |
What About Buying an Existing Columbus Business?
We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Mississippi. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Columbus.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Promoting Your New Company
To grow your Columbus business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Creating a Press Kit is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Building Up Your Sales
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Columbus or are selling to customers throughout Mississippi, 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. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
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 Columbus. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Columbus businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Columbus 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 Columbus, Mississippi
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Columbus.
- Resources for Columbus, Mississippi Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Columbus entrepreneurs.
- Mississippi Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Mississippi.
- Mississippi Small Business Development Center - The Mississippi Small Business Development Centers (MSBDC) is dedicated to helping build and grow businesses in Mississippi. For new entrepreneurs, this is an excellent resource.
- Columbus, Mississippi Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Columbus, Mississippi newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Columbus area.
- Columbus, Mississippi Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Columbus, Mississippi area radio stations.
- Columbus, Mississippi Payroll Services - This list includes Columbus, Mississippi payroll services, national payroll services for Columbus, and helpful information on choosing a Columbus payroll service.
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