Contemplating starting a business in Hurricane, West Virginia? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Hurricane.
Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?
Before quitting your day job, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Hurricane. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. 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.
Which Business to Choose?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. 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 Opening an Auto Bodies Commercial Business guide or our Opening a Protestant Churches Business guide.
Remember that your new startup will be located in Hurricane. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Hurricane. Don't forget to review Hurricane demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Hurricane, West Virginia Demographic Information
Hurricane has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Hurricane demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Hurricane.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1522 |
| 5-9 Employees |
624 |
| 10-19 Employees |
498 |
| 20-49 Employees |
228 |
| 50-99 Employees |
84 |
| 100-249 Employees |
30 |
| 250-499 Employees |
12 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Hurricane Businesses |
2998 |
As a new Hurricane entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hurricane 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 |
|
Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
11 |
| Beauty Salons |
6 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Car Washes |
6 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
2 |
|
Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
3 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
1 |
| Claims Adjusting |
3 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
|
Convention and Visitors Bureaus |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
3 |
| Directory and Mailing List Publishers |
1 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
4 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
3 |
|
Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
6 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
2 |
|
Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
8 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
3 |
| General Automotive Repair |
3 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
3 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
|
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
4 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
4 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
|
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
11 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investigation Services |
2 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
1 |
| Jewelry Stores |
1 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
3 |
|
Landscaping Services |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
15 |
| Logging |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
2 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
3 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
|
Medical Laboratories |
2 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
2 |
| Motor Home Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
5 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
3 |
|
Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
4 |
| Office Administrative Services |
3 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
3 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
3 |
| Offices of Dentists |
9 |
|
Offices of Lawyers |
12 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
2 |
| Outerwear Knitting Mills |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
3 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
1 |
|
Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Professional Organizations |
1 |
| Public Relations Agencies |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
2 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
2 |
| Residential Remodelers |
6 |
| Retail Bakeries |
2 |
| Roofing Contractors |
3 |
|
Satellite Telecommunications |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Siding Contractors |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
5 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Solid Waste Landfill |
2 |
|
Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
3 |
| Support Activities for Coal Mining |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Telecommunications Resellers |
1 |
| Telemarketing Bureaus |
2 |
| Television Broadcasting |
2 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
|
Testing Laboratories |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
1 |
| Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
1 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
3 |
|
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
2 |
Should You Franchise?
Examine a list of Hurricane businesses and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?
Our recommendation is that you evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. We have many articles on franchises, such as How to Find Financing for Franchises. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Edo Japan and Groucho's Deli. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Ice Cream Franchises and Pest Control Franchises.
Note on Hurricane Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Hurricane.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
Creating a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan
If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Contests. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in West Virginia.
Promoting Your New Startup
To grow your Hurricane business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Music on Hold is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
The Art of Selling
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Hurricane or are selling to customers throughout West Virginia, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Compensating Sales People 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
You have a dream -- starting a business in Hurricane. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Hurricane businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Hurricane 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 Hurricane, West Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Hurricane.
- Resources for Hurricane, West Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Hurricane entrepreneurs.
- West Virginia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in West Virginia.
- Wisconsin Small Business Development Center - Wisconsin Small Business Development Centers offer a variety of educational services to small-businesses. The low-cost courses, seminars, and workshops cover both basic and complex topics, from marketing to management techniques to business plan development.
- Hurricane, West Virginia Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Hurricane, West Virginia newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Hurricane area.
- Hurricane, West Virginia Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Hurricane, West Virginia area radio stations.
- Hurricane, West Virginia Payroll Services - This list includes Hurricane, West Virginia payroll services, national payroll services for Hurricane, and helpful information on choosing a Hurricane payroll service.
- Hurricane, West Virginia Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Hurricane, West Virginia, such as business brokers in Hurricane and other helpful information on how to buy a Hurricane business.
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