Contemplating starting a business in Greenville, Alabama? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Greenville.
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?
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Greenville. 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.
Greenville, Alabama Demographic Information
Greenville has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Greenville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Greenville.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
12006 |
| 5-9 Employees |
6003 |
| 10-19 Employees |
3036 |
| 20-49 Employees |
2001 |
| 50-99 Employees |
897 |
| 100-249 Employees |
414 |
| 250-499 Employees |
69 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Greenville Businesses |
24426 |
As a new Greenville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Greenville 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 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
6 |
| Beauty Salons |
7 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Child and Youth Services |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
2 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
4 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
2 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drafting Services |
1 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
5 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
6 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
1 |
| Florists |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
11 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
3 |
| Furniture Stores |
5 |
| General Automotive Repair |
2 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
2 |
| Home Health Care Services |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
8 |
| Janitorial Services |
1 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
2 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
12 |
| Logging |
8 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
1 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
1 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
2 |
| Nonferrous Forging |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
2 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
2 |
| Offices of Dentists |
5 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
9 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
2 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
3 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
2 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
1 |
| Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
2 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
2 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Rolled Steel Shape Manufacturing |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| Sawmills |
1 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
4 |
| Solid Waste Landfill |
1 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Support Activities for Forestry |
3 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
2 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
4 |
| Truss Manufacturing |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
5 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
1 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
2 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
1 |
Have You Considered Franchising?
As you drive around Greenville, it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
Most business experts recommend that you look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Before Buying a Franchise. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Postal Connections of America and EPMARK, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Employment and Staffing Franchises and Auto Repair Franchises.
Note on Greenville Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Greenville, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
Promoting Your New Business
To grow your Greenville business, you need a great marketing plan.
We have some great resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Marketing Versus Sales 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.
The Art of Selling
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Greenville business, you need to focus on sales.
Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Sales Forecasting is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities
Good business owners recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.
With your business being located in Greenville, Alabama, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Alabama universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Greenville entrepreneurs.
Now It's Up To You
As an entrepreneur in Greenville, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Greenville businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Greenville 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 Greenville, Alabama
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Greenville.
- Resources for Greenville, Alabama Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Greenville entrepreneurs.
- Alabama Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Alabama.
- Alabama Small Business Development Center - Alabama's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counsels and trains business people in a wide variety of business topics and provides comprehensive information services and access to experts in many fields. Counseling is provided free of charge to all Alabama small business owners.
- Greenville, Alabama Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Greenville, Alabama newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Greenville area.
- Greenville, Alabama Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Greenville, Alabama area radio stations.
- Greenville, Alabama Payroll Services - This list includes Greenville, Alabama payroll services, national payroll services for Greenville, and helpful information on choosing a Greenville payroll service.
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