Are you starting a business in Hillsborough, North Carolina? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Hillsborough.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Hillsborough. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- You should read The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
What Business Are You Starting?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? We recommend that you read Good Business Ideas.
If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Marketing Consultants Business guide or our Starting a Medical & Infectious Waste Disposal Business guide.
Don't forget that you are opening your new business in Hillsborough. If Hillsborough already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Only by spending some time analyzing Hillsborough demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Hillsborough, North Carolina Demographic Information
Hillsborough has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Hillsborough demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Hillsborough.
| Business Size | # of Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
3087 |
| 5-9 Employees |
945 |
| 10-19 Employees |
522 |
| 20-49 Employees |
288 |
| 50-99 Employees |
90 |
| 100-249 Employees |
27 |
| 250-499 Employees |
27 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Hillsborough Businesses |
4986 |
As a new Hillsborough entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hillsborough 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 Parts and Accessories Stores |
5 |
| Beauty Salons |
5 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Publishers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
3 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
8 |
| Commercial Photography |
1 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Computer Facilities Management Services |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
3 |
| Convention and Visitors Bureaus |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
6 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
1 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
7 |
| Electronic Shopping |
2 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
3 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
2 |
| Engineering Services |
2 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
2 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
2 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
2 |
| Flooring Contractors |
2 |
| Florists |
2 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
5 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
11 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
4 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
2 |
| General Automotive Repair |
5 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
3 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Graphic Design Services |
3 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Historical Sites |
1 |
| Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
3 |
| Human Rights Organizations |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
6 |
| Investigation Services |
1 |
| Irradiation Apparatus Manufacturing |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
9 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
13 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
14 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
6 |
| Manifold Business Forms Printing |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
3 |
| Masonry Contractors |
2 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
2 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
2 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
2 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
2 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
3 |
| Offices of Dentists |
6 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
13 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Packaging and Labeling Services |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
1 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
3 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Precision Turned Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
2 |
| Residential Property Managers |
2 |
| Residential Remodelers |
12 |
| Roofing Contractors |
3 |
| Sawmills |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
2 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
11 |
| Software Publishers |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
2 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
3 |
| Sports Teams and Clubs |
1 |
| Support Activities for Forestry |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
2 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Testing Laboratories |
2 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
4 |
| Translation and Interpretation Services |
1 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
2 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
1 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
3 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
3 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
1 |
Should You Franchise?
As you drive around Hillsborough, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Growth Trends in Franchising. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Representative franchise opportunities include Home Preservation Systems and CHIP The Remarkable Child I.D. Program. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Restaurant Services Franchises and Florist Franchises.
Note on Hillsborough Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Hillsborough.
Company Formation in Hillsborough, North Carolina
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will 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. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Getting an EIN. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Hillsborough, North Carolina, our web page covering Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.
Bring in Revenues
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Hillsborough or are selling to customers throughout North Carolina, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Why Salespeople Fail 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.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
Successful entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina, you should investigate some of the learning programs at local North Carolina educational institutions. Another way to keep up on your learning is to investigate networking groups or organizations in which Hillsborough entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Hillsborough. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Hillsborough and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Hillsborough, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Hillsborough, North Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Hillsborough.
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