Starting a Business in Jacksonville, Alabama

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

Is Becoming a Business Owner Right for You?

Most new businesses do not succeed, in part because the business owner did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

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:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Jacksonville. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
• 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. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

Jacksonville, Alabama Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	4500
5-9 Employees	1836
10-19 Employees	1260
20-49 Employees	648
50-99 Employees	180
100-249 Employees	216
250-499 Employees	36
500-999 Employees	36
1000+ Employees	0
All Jacksonville Businesses	8712

As a new Jacksonville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Jacksonville 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
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	3
Barber Shops	1
Beauty Salons	7
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Book Stores	3
Child Day Care Services	5
Civic and Social Organizations	1
Clay Refractory Manufacturing	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Commercial Screen Printing	1
Consumer Lending	1
Convenience Stores	1
Credit Unions	3
Discount Department Stores	1
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	1
Engineering Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	2
Flooring Contractors	1
Florists	2
Food Service Contractors	1
Full-Service Restaurants	10
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
General Automotive Repair	5
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
General Warehousing and Storage	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	2
Home Centers	1
Industrial Valve Manufacturing	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	4
Iron Foundries	1
Janitorial Services	2
Jewelry Stores	1
Landscaping Services	1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	14
Logging	1
Machine Shops	2
Masonry Contractors	2
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	3
Offices of Lawyers	4
Offices of Optometrists	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	3
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing	1
Radio Stations	1
Residential Remodelers	1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	1
Roofing Contractors	1
School and Employee Bus Transportation	1
Septic Tank and Related Services	2
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Tax Preparation Services	1
Television Broadcasting	1
Temporary Help Services	1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	1
Travel Agencies	1
Used Car Dealers	1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving	1
Veterinary Services	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	2

Have You Considered Franchising?

As you drive around Jacksonville, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising Scams. 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 NYPD Pizza and Hawaii's Java Kai. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Wine Franchises and Marketing, Sales and Advertising Franchises.

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

Forming a Company in Jacksonville, Alabama

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 decide among 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. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Alabama, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Alabama. 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 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 Incorporation Advice. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Jacksonville, Alabama, our web page covering Incorporating in Alabama may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Alabama.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

A business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Expert Advice on Business Plans. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Alabama.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Successful business owners recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Jacksonville, Alabama, you should get information on some of the learning programs at local Alabama educational institutions. You should also check if there are any networking organizations for Jacksonville entrepreneurs.

Moving Forward

Most new Jacksonville businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Jacksonville and throughout the United States . 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 Jacksonville, Alabama

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

• Resources for Jacksonville, Alabama Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Jacksonville entrepreneurs.
• Alabama Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Alabama.
• Alabama Small Business Development Center - Alabama's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counsels and trains business people in a wide variety of business topics and provides comprehensive information services and access to experts in many fields. Counseling is provided free of charge to all Alabama small business owners.
• Jacksonville, Alabama Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Jacksonville, Alabama newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Jacksonville area.
• Jacksonville, Alabama Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Jacksonville, Alabama area radio stations.

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