Starting a Business in Cordele, Georgia

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

Before you get too far along in the process, consider 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.

• Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Cordele. 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.

Which Business to Choose?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Finding Your Niche in Life.

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 Starting a Corrugated Metals Business guide or our Opening a Shoelaces Retail Business guide.

Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Cordele. Some businesses will do better in Cordele than others. Don't forget to review Cordele demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Cordele, Georgia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	840
5-9 Employees	321
10-19 Employees	216
20-49 Employees	153
50-99 Employees	42
100-249 Employees	30
250-499 Employees	9
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Cordele Businesses	1611

As a new Cordele entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Cordele 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
Ambulance Services	1
Apprenticeship Training	1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	7
Baked Goods Stores	1
Beauty Salons	1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	2
Business Associations	2
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Cafeterias	1
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Child and Youth Services	1
Child Day Care Services	2
Claims Adjusting	1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Collection Agencies	1
Computer and Software Stores	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing	1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers	1
Consumer Lending	8
Continuing Care Retirement Communities	1
Convenience Stores	4
Credit Unions	1
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing	1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers	3
Display Advertising	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	1
Electrical Contractors	7
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	4
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage	1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	3
Fine Arts Schools	1
Fish and Seafood Markets	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Floor Covering Stores	1
Florists	1
Food Service Contractors	2
Freight Transportation Arrangement	1
Full-Service Restaurants	15
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	3
Furniture Stores	4
General Automotive Repair	4
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
General Rental Centers	2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	2
Hardware Stores	2
Home Centers	1
Home Health Care Services	6
Home Health Equipment Rental	2
Household Appliance Stores	1
Human Rights Organizations	1
Ice Manufacturing	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	11
Iron Foundries	1
Janitorial Services	2
Jewelry Stores	4
Kidney Dialysis Centers	1
Landscaping Services	2
Limited-Service Restaurants	19
Local Messengers and Local Delivery	1
Logging	2
Machine Shops	1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	2
Masonry Contractors	1
Men's Clothing Stores	2
Miscellaneous Intermediation	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
Motorcycle Dealers	1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores	2
New Car Dealers	5
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	3
Office Administrative Services	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	4
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	5
Offices of Lawyers	7
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	1
Optical Goods Stores	4
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	4
Photography Studios, Portrait	4
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing	1
Private Mail Centers	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	2
Real Estate Credit	1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage	2
Residential Property Managers	2
Roofing Contractors	1
Sawmills	2
Securities Brokerage	3
Shoe Stores	2
Site Preparation Contractors	1
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Support Activities for Forestry	1
Tax Preparation Services	2
Taxi Service	1
Television Broadcasting	1
Temporary Help Services	2
Temporary Shelters	1
Timber Tract Operations	1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers	1
Tire Dealers	2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	1
Travel Agencies	1
Used Car Dealers	3
Used Merchandise Stores	2
Veterinary Services	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	4
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	2
Women's Clothing Stores	4

What About Franchising Opportunities?

As you drive around Cordele, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. So, it probably makes sense for you to consider franchising too.

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchise Marketing Support. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Physicians Weight Loss and Flicko's Franchise Corp., Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Hotel and Motel Franchises and Kitchen Design Franchises.

Note on Cordele Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Cordele, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

What About Buying an Existing Cordele Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Georgia. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Cordele.

If you are going to be buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Marketing Your New Company

To rise above the crowd in Cordele and build your business, you need a solid marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Billboard Advertising Best Practices 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.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Cordele. 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 Cordele and throughout the United States . We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Cordele, Georgia

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

• Resources for Cordele, Georgia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Cordele entrepreneurs.
• Georgia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Georgia.
• Georgia Small Business Development Center - The Georgia SBDC program helps Georgia entrepreneurs with developing business plans, providing financial analysis, identifying sources of capital, and assessing marketing strategies.
• Cordele, Georgia Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Cordele, Georgia newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Cordele area.

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