Thinking about starting a business in Hopkinsville, Kentucky? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Hopkinsville.
Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?
Most new businesses don't make it, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Hopkinsville. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
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 Starting an Air Quality Consulting Firm guide or our Opening a Weed Control Equipment & Supplies Retail Business guide.
Remember that your new startup will be located in Hopkinsville. Some businesses will do better in Hopkinsville than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Hopkinsville demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Hopkinsville, Kentucky Demographic Information
Hopkinsville has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Hopkinsville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Hopkinsville.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1621 |
| 5-9 Employees |
705 |
| 10-19 Employees |
480 |
| 20-49 Employees |
315 |
| 50-99 Employees |
99 |
| 100-249 Employees |
63 |
| 250-499 Employees |
21 |
| 500-999 Employees |
21 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Hopkinsville Businesses |
3325 |
As a new Hopkinsville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hopkinsville 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 |
| Abrasive Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Ambulance Services |
2 |
| Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
2 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
2 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
14 |
| Barber Shops |
2 |
| Beauty Salons |
8 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
11 |
| Blood and Organ Banks |
1 |
| Book Stores |
3 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
2 |
| Car Washes |
5 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
20 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
7 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
4 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
9 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
3 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
2 |
| Diet and Weight Reducing Centers |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
3 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
2 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
9 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
5 |
| Engineering Services |
2 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing |
1 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
4 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
5 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
5 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
4 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
4 |
| Flour Milling |
2 |
| Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing |
2 |
| Food Service Contractors |
5 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
20 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
5 |
| Furniture Stores |
6 |
| General Automotive Repair |
11 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
3 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
3 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
4 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
4 |
| Industrial Building Construction |
1 |
| Industrial Gas Manufacturing |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
22 |
| Internet Publishing and Broadcasting |
1 |
| Investigation Services |
1 |
| Iron and Steel Mills |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
5 |
| Jewelry Stores |
5 |
| Junior Colleges |
1 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
3 |
| Land Subdivision |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
10 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
27 |
| Livestock Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Machine Shops |
4 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
2 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
3 |
| Masonry Contractors |
2 |
| Meat Processed from Carcasses |
2 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Metal Stamping |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
3 |
| Motor and Generator Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Metal Stamping |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
2 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Nail Salons |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
6 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
7 |
| Office Administrative Services |
3 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
5 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
5 |
| Offices of Dentists |
17 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
30 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
3 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
2 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
2 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
3 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
8 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
4 |
| Plastics Bag Manufacturing |
1 |
| Professional Organizations |
2 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
3 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
2 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Residential Property Managers |
2 |
| Residential Remodelers |
6 |
| Satellite Telecommunications |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
2 |
| Securities Brokerage |
5 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
5 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
3 |
| Siding Contractors |
2 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
4 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
4 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
5 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Spring (Light Gauge) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
3 |
| Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
6 |
| Textile Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
2 |
| Tire Dealers |
3 |
| Tire Retreading |
1 |
| Tobacco Stores |
5 |
| Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Used Car Dealers |
4 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
4 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
4 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
5 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
3 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
5 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
5 |
What About Buying an Existing Hopkinsville Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Kentucky. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Hopkinsville.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Forming a Company in Hopkinsville, Kentucky
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will protect you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be 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. If you are starting a business in Kentucky, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Kentucky. As it turns out, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Incorporating Online. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, our information on Incorporating in Kentucky may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Kentucky.
The Art of Selling
Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Hopkinsville business to do well.
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.
Why Salespeople Fail offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Never Give Up
Most new Hopkinsville businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Hopkinsville and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Hopkinsville.
- Resources for Hopkinsville, Kentucky Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Hopkinsville entrepreneurs.
- Kentucky Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Kentucky.
- Kentucky Small Business Development Center - The Kentucky Small Business Development Center (KSBDC) has been assisting Kentucky small business community for more than 25 years. KSBDC is co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and is administered by the University of Kentucky in partnership with regional universities, community and private colleges, and the private sector.
- Hopkinsville, Kentucky Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Hopkinsville, Kentucky newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Hopkinsville area.
- Hopkinsville, Kentucky Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Hopkinsville, Kentucky area radio stations.
- Hopkinsville, Kentucky Payroll Services - This list includes Hopkinsville, Kentucky payroll services, national payroll services for Hopkinsville, and helpful information on choosing a Hopkinsville payroll service.
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