Opening a Business in Franklin, North Carolina

Contemplating starting a business in Franklin, North Carolina? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Franklin.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new businesses don't make it, in part because the founder did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

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 Franklin. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

What Type of Business Should You Start?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Free Business Ideas.

To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting an Ice Melting Equipment & Supplies Business guide or our Opening a Gold Nugget Jewelry Business guide.

Remember that you are starting a business in Franklin. Some businesses will do better in Franklin than others. Make sure you fully understand Franklin demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Franklin, North Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	41704
5-9 Employees	12870
10-19 Employees	6552
20-49 Employees	3744
50-99 Employees	1014
100-249 Employees	780
250-499 Employees	156
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Franklin Businesses	66820

As a new Franklin entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Franklin 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
Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting)	1
Amusement Arcades	1
Architectural Services	1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	6
Automotive Transmission Repair	2
Beauty Salons	20
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	3
Book Stores	1
Bowling Centers	1
Building Inspection Services	1
Business Associations	2
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Car Washes	3
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	2
Child Day Care Services	5
Civic and Social Organizations	2
Claims Adjusting	2
Commercial Photography	1
Computer and Software Stores	2
Computer Systems Design Services	2
Consumer Lending	2
Convenience Stores	4
Convention and Visitors Bureaus	1
Couriers	1
Credit Unions	2
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing	1
Discount Department Stores	2
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	7
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	22
Emergency and Other Relief Services	1
Engineering Services	1
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	2
Family Clothing Stores	2
Family Planning Centers	1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	9
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	6
Floor Covering Stores	3
Flooring Contractors	3
Florists	3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	2
Framing Contractors	6
Full-Service Restaurants	32
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	2
Furniture Stores	4
General Automotive Repair	11
General Freight Trucking, Local	4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
General Rental Centers	2
General Warehousing and Storage	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	5
Glass and Glazing Contractors	2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	2
Graphic Design Services	1
Hardware Stores	1
Heating Oil Dealers	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	1
Home Centers	2
Home Health Care Services	6
Home Health Equipment Rental	1
Homes for the Elderly	1
Household Appliance Stores	4
Industrial Design Services	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	10
Janitorial Services	2
Jewelry Stores	5
Land Subdivision	6
Landscaping Services	16
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	16
Logging	5
Machine Shops	2
Mail-Order Houses	2
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Masonry Contractors	7
Meat Processed from Carcasses	1
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing	1
Motorcycle Dealers	2
Museums	2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores	1
New Car Dealers	3
New Housing Operative Builders	3
Newspaper Publishers	3
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	2
Office Administrative Services	1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	2
Offices of Bank Holding Companies	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	3
Offices of Chiropractors	4
Offices of Dentists	8
Offices of Lawyers	10
Offices of Optometrists	4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	2
One-Hour Photofinishing	1
Optical Goods Stores	1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	6
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	3
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Photography Studios, Portrait	1
Private Mail Centers	2
Professional Employer Organizations	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	1
Real Estate Credit	1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers	1
Remediation Services	1
Residential Property Managers	2
Residential Remodelers	6
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	1
Roofing Contractors	1
Savings Institutions	3
Sawmills	1
Securities Brokerage	2
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Shoe Stores	2
Siding Contractors	1
Site Preparation Contractors	21
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	2
Software Publishers	1
Solid Waste Collection	1
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Tax Preparation Services	5
Temporary Help Services	1
Tire Dealers	6
Tire Retreading	1
Tour Operators	2
Travel Agencies	1
Used Car Dealers	3
Used Household and Office Goods Moving	1
Used Merchandise Stores	7
Veterinary Services	3
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	2
Voluntary Health Organizations	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	3
Window Treatment Stores	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	3

Naming the Business

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.

Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Franklin, it's imperative that you check now that no other North Carolina company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Franklin, North Carolina

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating 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 North Carolina, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in North Carolina. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

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 Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Franklin, North Carolina, our information on Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.

Marketing Your New Startup

To grow your Franklin business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

You can learn all about marketing on our site. Advertising on Google discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. 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 need to continually improve.

With your business being located in Franklin, North Carolina, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby North Carolina universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Franklin networking organizations.

Next Steps

Most new Franklin businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

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

We are here to help Franklin businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Franklin 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 Franklin, North Carolina

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

• Resources for Franklin, North Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Franklin entrepreneurs.
• North Carolina Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in North Carolina.
• North Carolina Small Business Development Center - The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) helps small business owners meet the challenges of today's business environment. To do this, they provide management counseling and educational services to small and mid-sized businesses throughout North Carolina.
• Franklin, North Carolina Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Franklin, North Carolina newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Franklin area.
• Franklin, North Carolina Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Franklin, North Carolina area radio stations.

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