Opening a Business in Hertford, North Carolina

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

Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?

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?

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

• Speak with other entrepreneurs in Hertford. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
• You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
• Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Evaluating Your Idea.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Heavy Construction Business guide or our Opening a Public Health & Safety Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in Hertford. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Hertford. Don't forget to review Hertford demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Hertford, North Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	320
5-9 Employees	102
10-19 Employees	57
20-49 Employees	27
50-99 Employees	12
100-249 Employees	3
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Hertford Businesses	521

As a new Hertford entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hertford 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
Architectural Services	1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops	1
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	3
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Business Associations	2
Child Day Care Services	4
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Convenience Stores	3
Couriers	2
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Dental Laboratories	1
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	3
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	1
Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing	1
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Flooring Contractors	1
Florists	2
Food Service Contractors	1
Full-Service Restaurants	4
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
General Automotive Repair	3
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	2
Hardware Stores	2
Heating Oil Dealers	1
Historical Sites	1
Homes for the Elderly	3
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	2
Internet Service Providers	1
Jewelry Stores	1
Land Subdivision	2
Landscaping Services	3
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	5
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	1
Masonry Contractors	1
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing	1
New Car Dealers	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	2
Offices of Dentists	3
Offices of Lawyers	4
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Professional Organizations	1
Residential Remodelers	2
Savings Institutions	1
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Site Preparation Contractors	2
Tax Preparation Services	1
Used Car Dealers	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	1
Women's Clothing Stores	1

Choosing a Company Name

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Hertford, it's critical that you ensure that your company name has not already been claimed by another North Carolina business.

The Role of the Business Plan

Writing a business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read The Art of the Executive Summary. You should also take advantage of free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in North Carolina.

Marketing Your New Venture

Whether your goal is to attract Hertford 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. Search Engine Promotion 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.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

The best business owners know that they need to continually improve.

Given that you are starting a business in Hertford, North Carolina, you should get information on some of the many programs available at nearby North Carolina universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any Hertford networking organizations.

What's Next?

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Hertford businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Hertford, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Hertford, North Carolina

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

• Resources for Hertford, North Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Hertford 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.
• Hertford, North Carolina Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Hertford, North Carolina newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Hertford area.

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