Open a Business in Highlands, North Carolina

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

Before you get too far along in the process, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

Before you move forward with starting a business, be sure to do these three things:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Highlands. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
• We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. 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.

Highlands, North Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1845
5-9 Employees	492
10-19 Employees	324
20-49 Employees	216
50-99 Employees	0
100-249 Employees	9
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Highlands Businesses	2886

As a new Highlands entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Highlands 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
Architectural Services	4
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	1
Beauty Salons	2
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	5
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	2
Book Stores	1
Business Associations	1
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Caterers	1
Child Day Care Services	4
Clothing Accessories Stores	2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Computer and Software Stores	2
Confectionery and Nut Stores	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	1
Electrical Contractors	3
Engineering Services	1
Exam Preparation and Tutoring	1
Family Clothing Stores	3
Finish Carpentry Contractors	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Floor Covering Stores	1
Florists	2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Food Service Contractors	1
Framing Contractors	1
Freight Transportation Arrangement	1
Full-Service Restaurants	15
Furniture Stores	4
General Automotive Repair	1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	12
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	6
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	2
Home Centers	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Human Rights Organizations	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	1
Interior Design Services	1
Jewelry Stores	2
Landscape Architectural Services	1
Landscaping Services	9
Limited-Service Restaurants	6
Masonry Contractors	2
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Motor Vehicle Towing	1
Museums	1
Musical Groups and Artists	1
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Newspaper Publishers	2
Office Administrative Services	2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	2
Offices of Dentists	1
Offices of Lawyers	4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	1
Packing and Crating	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	1
Passenger Car Leasing	1
Payroll Services	1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	1
Professional Employer Organizations	1
Radio Stations	1
Residential Property Managers	3
Residential Remodelers	4
Savings Institutions	1
Securities Brokerage	3
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Site Preparation Contractors	5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	2
Sporting Goods Stores	2
Temporary Help Services	1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters	1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving	1
Used Merchandise Stores	6
Veterinary Services	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	11

Should You Franchise?

Examine a list of Highlands businesses and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?

We highly recommend you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as The Franchising Process. 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 Pirtek and Ace Duraflow Systems. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Frozen Yogurt Franchises and Kid Friendly Franchises.

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

Selecting a Name For Your Venture

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.

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

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.

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

Company Formation in Highlands, 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 separate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

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

Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because 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. 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 Why Incorporate in Delaware. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Highlands, North Carolina, our information on Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Getting your Highlands business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.

On the bright side, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Attracting Investors.

For Highlands entrepreneurs who need startup capital, you'll want to take a look at our List of North Carolina Angel Investors and our List of North Carolina Venture Capital Firms.

Selling Tips

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Highlands or are selling to customers throughout North Carolina, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Selling on the Phone offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Now It's Up To You

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

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

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

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

• Resources for Highlands, North Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Highlands 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.
• Highlands, North Carolina Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Highlands, North Carolina newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Highlands area.
• Highlands, North Carolina Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Highlands, North Carolina area radio stations.

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