Starting a Business in Jefferson City, Tennessee

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

An entrepreneurial life is hard work, much harder than working as an employee. Are you positive you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

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

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Jefferson City. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Which Business to Choose?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening an Internal Medicine Veterinarians Business guide or our Opening a Religious Vestments Business guide.

Remember that you are opening your new business in Jefferson City. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Jefferson City. Study Jefferson City demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Jefferson City, Tennessee Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1206
5-9 Employees	531
10-19 Employees	360
20-49 Employees	252
50-99 Employees	81
100-249 Employees	45
250-499 Employees	36
500-999 Employees	9
1000+ Employees	0
All Jefferson City Businesses	2520

As a new Jefferson City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Jefferson City 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
Automobile Driving Schools	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	4
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Business Associations	1
Caterers	1
Child Day Care Services	3
Civic and Social Organizations	2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	2
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Consumer Lending	5
Convenience Stores	1
Convention and Trade Show Organizers	1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers	1
Document Preparation Services	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	2
Electrical Contractors	1
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Engineering Services	1
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	1
Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturing	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Floor Covering Stores	2
Florists	2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Food Service Contractors	2
Full-Service Restaurants	10
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers	1
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	3
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers	1
Hardware Stores	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	1
Home Health Care Services	1
Homes for the Elderly	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Institutional Furniture Manufacturing	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	7
Jewelry Stores	1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	16
Mail-Order Houses	1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	2
Musical Instrument Manufacturing	1
New Car Dealers	2
New Housing Operative Builders	2
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	2
Office Administrative Services	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Chiropractors	4
Offices of Dentists	5
Offices of Lawyers	4
Offices of Optometrists	2
Optical Goods Stores	1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	3
Photography Studios, Portrait	1
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing	1
Real Estate Credit	2
Residential Property Managers	2
Residential Remodelers	3
Securities Brokerage	1
Sign Manufacturing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	2
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Steel Wire Drawing	1
Tax Preparation Services	1
Tobacco Stores	1
Tradebinding and Related Work	1
Used Car Dealers	2
Used Merchandise Stores	1
Veterinary Services	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Voluntary Health Organizations	1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	2
Women's Clothing Stores	1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing	1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing	2
Yarn Spinning Mills	1

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 should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Jefferson City, it's critical that you ensure that your company name has not already been claimed by another Tennessee business.

The Art of Selling

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Jefferson City business, you need to focus on sales.

Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Anticipating Prospect Responses is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Good business owners know that they don't know everything.

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

Next Steps

As an entrepreneur in Jefferson City, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

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

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Jefferson City and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Jefferson City, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Jefferson City, Tennessee

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

• Resources for Jefferson City, Tennessee Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Jefferson City entrepreneurs.
• Tennessee Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Tennessee.
• Tennessee Small Business Development Center - If you are a small business owner, entrepreneur or you are thinking about starting a new business, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) is ready to help you every step of the way!
• Jefferson City, Tennessee Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Jefferson City, Tennessee newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Jefferson City area.
• Jefferson City, Tennessee Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Jefferson City, Tennessee area radio stations.

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Tennessee
Starting a Business in Jamestown
Starting a Business in Johnson City

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Tennessee