West Virginia Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Elkins, West Virginia

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

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Evaluating Your Idea.

If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Feeders Business guide or our How to Start a Reproductive Endocrinology Physicians & Surgeons Business guide.

Don't forget that your new business will be in Elkins. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Elkins. Make sure you fully understand Elkins demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Elkins, West Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1856
5-9 Employees
642
10-19 Employees
486
20-49 Employees
294
50-99 Employees
114
100-249 Employees
36
250-499 Employees
12
500-999 Employees
6
1000+ Employees
0
All Elkins Businesses
3446

As a new Elkins entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Elkins 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
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
5
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
2
Book Stores
2
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
2
Cafeterias
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
3
Child Day Care Services
6
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
2
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
2
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
2
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
2
Discount Department Stores
2
Display Advertising
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
5
Electric Power Distribution
2
Employment Placement Agencies
2
Engineering Services
4
Explosives Manufacturing
1
Family Clothing Stores
2
Floor Covering Stores
3
Flooring Contractors
2
Florists
3
Food Service Contractors
1
Framing Contractors
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
14
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
2
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
4
Grantmaking Foundations
3
Hardware Stores
2
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Home Health Care Services
4
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
12
Investment Advice
1
Iron Foundries
1
Jewelry Stores
1
Landscaping Services
2
Language Schools
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
4
Limited-Service Restaurants
15
Logging
7
Machine Shops
2
Masonry Contractors
4
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
3
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
4
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
3
Offices of Chiropractors
3
Offices of Dentists
5
Offices of Lawyers
17
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Podiatrists
2
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Optical Goods Stores
2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
1
Political Organizations
1
Quick Printing
1
Radio Stations
2
Real Estate Credit
2
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
2
Repossession Services
1
Roofing Contractors
3
Sawmills
2
Securities Brokerage
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Shoe Stores
2
Siding Contractors
2
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Support Activities for Forestry
2
Tax Preparation Services
3
Taxi Service
2
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Testing Laboratories
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Timber Tract Operations
1
Tire Dealers
5
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
5
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Veterinary Services
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
2

What About Buying an Existing Elkins Business?

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

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Naming the Company

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Elkins, it's very important that you make sure no other West Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Elkins, West Virginia

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The primary advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in West Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in West Virginia. As it turns out, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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 Corporate Formalities. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Elkins, West Virginia, our information on Incorporating in West Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in West Virginia.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

A business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Presentations. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in West Virginia.

Promoting Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract Elkins customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Print Advertising Costs is a good read to get your marketing thoughts flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Never Give Up

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Elkins and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Elkins 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 Elkins, West Virginia

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

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