Opening a Business in Gulf Shores, Alabama

Are you starting a business in Gulf Shores, Alabama? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Gulf Shores.

What Business to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 an Employee Training Business guide or our Opening a Tenant screening Business guide.

Remember that your new business will be in Gulf Shores. Some businesses will do better in Gulf Shores than others. Make sure you fully understand Gulf Shores demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Gulf Shores, Alabama Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	900
5-9 Employees	258
10-19 Employees	192
20-49 Employees	117
50-99 Employees	36
100-249 Employees	3
250-499 Employees	6
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Gulf Shores Businesses	1512

As a new Gulf Shores entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Gulf Shores 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
Amusement and Theme Parks	1
Amusement Arcades	1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance	1
Architectural Services	1
Beauty Salons	5
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	3
Boat Dealers	2
Business Associations	1
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Collection Agencies	1
Commercial Bakeries	1
Computer and Software Stores	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Convenience Stores	1
Convention and Visitors Bureaus	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	2
Direct Title Insurance Carriers	1
Discount Department Stores	1
Display Advertising	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	5
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Engineering Services	2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	2
Family Clothing Stores	1
Fine Arts Schools	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	4
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Floor Covering Stores	4
Flooring Contractors	2
Florists	1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation	1
Full-Service Restaurants	31
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	5
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	7
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	3
Hardware Stores	1
Home Centers	1
Inland Water Freight Transportation	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	4
Interior Design Services	4
Janitorial Services	9
Jewelry Stores	3
Land Subdivision	3
Landscape Architectural Services	1
Landscaping Services	9
Limited-Service Restaurants	9
Logging	1
Marinas	4
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Masonry Contractors	1
Medical Laboratories	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	5
Motorcycle Dealers	1
New Housing Operative Builders	2
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Office Administrative Services	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	4
Offices of Chiropractors	3
Offices of Dentists	5
Offices of Lawyers	7
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	2
Periodical Publishers	4
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	3
Photography Studios, Portrait	1
Private Mail Centers	1
Professional Organizations	2
Quick Printing	2
Real Estate Credit	4
Recreational Goods Rental	2
Residential Property Managers	9
Residential Remodelers	11
Retail Bakeries	1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	2
Roofing Contractors	1
Sawmills	1
Secondary Market Financing	1
Securities Brokerage	1
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Ship Building and Repairing	1
Siding Contractors	1
Site Preparation Contractors	3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	3
Solid Waste Collection	1
Sporting Goods Stores	2
Temporary Help Services	1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors	1
Tire Dealers	1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	4
Travel Agencies	1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	2
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing	1
Zoos and Botanical Gardens	1

Have You Considered Franchising?

As you drive around Gulf Shores, it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. So, it probably makes sense for you to consider franchising too.

Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Benefits of Owning A Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Ritter's Frozen Custard and New York Burrito-Gourmet Wraps. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Frozen Yogurt Franchises and Kid Friendly Franchises.

Note on Gulf Shores Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Gulf Shores.

Company Formation in Gulf Shores, Alabama

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The main 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. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Alabama, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Alabama. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as How to Incorporate. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Gulf Shores, Alabama, our information on Incorporating in Alabama may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Alabama.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your Gulf Shores business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Attracting Investors.

For Gulf Shores entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Alabama Angel Investors and our List of Alabama Venture Capital Firms.

Bring in Revenues

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Gulf Shores business, you need to focus on sales.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Anticipating Prospect Responses is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

Now It's Up To You

As an entrepreneur in Gulf Shores, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

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

We are here to help Gulf Shores businesses to be successful. 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 Gulf Shores, Alabama

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

• Resources for Gulf Shores, Alabama Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Gulf Shores 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.
• Gulf Shores, Alabama Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Gulf Shores, Alabama newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Gulf Shores area.
• Gulf Shores, Alabama Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Gulf Shores, Alabama area radio stations.
• Gulf Shores, Alabama Payroll Services - This list includes Gulf Shores, Alabama payroll services, national payroll services for Gulf Shores, and helpful information on choosing a Gulf Shores payroll service.
• Gulf Shores, Alabama Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Gulf Shores, Alabama, such as business brokers in Gulf Shores and other helpful information on how to buy a Gulf Shores business.

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