Are you starting a business in Kinston, North Carolina? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Kinston.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read Free Business Ideas.
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 Starting a Design & Communications Agencies Business guide or our How to Start a Golf Driving & Practice Ranges Business guide.
Remember that you are starting a business in Kinston. If Kinston already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Don't forget to review Kinston demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Kinston, North Carolina Demographic Information
Kinston has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Kinston demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Kinston.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
3268 |
| 5-9 Employees |
1584 |
| 10-19 Employees |
1068 |
| 20-49 Employees |
684 |
| 50-99 Employees |
240 |
| 100-249 Employees |
150 |
| 250-499 Employees |
36 |
| 500-999 Employees |
36 |
| 1000+ Employees |
6 |
| All Kinston Businesses |
7072 |
As a new Kinston entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Kinston 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 |
| Advertising Agencies |
1 |
| Air Traffic Control |
1 |
| Ambulance Services |
2 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
2 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
2 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
16 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
2 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
3 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
3 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
4 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
4 |
| Car Washes |
3 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
26 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
7 |
| Claims Adjusting |
1 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
2 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
3 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
4 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
3 |
| Convenience Stores |
10 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
5 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
3 |
| Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
6 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Direct Mail Advertising |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
3 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
13 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
3 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
2 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
8 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
5 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
6 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
6 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
3 |
| Florists |
4 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Formal Wear and Costume Rental |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
27 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
4 |
| Furniture Stores |
7 |
| General Automotive Repair |
16 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
6 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
4 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
2 |
| Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Hazardous Waste Collection |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
2 |
| Home Centers |
3 |
| Home Health Care Services |
12 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
5 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
4 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
27 |
| Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
4 |
| Jewelry Stores |
5 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
10 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
3 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
35 |
| Linen Supply |
1 |
| Locksmiths |
2 |
| Logging |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
4 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
2 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
4 |
| Meat Processed from Carcasses |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
3 |
| Musical Groups and Artists |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
6 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
5 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
3 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
3 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
6 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
3 |
| Offices of Dentists |
36 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
19 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
4 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
2 |
| One-Hour Photofinishing |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
4 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
5 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
9 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
3 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
3 |
| Professional Organizations |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
2 |
| Racetracks |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
2 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
3 |
| Real Estate Credit |
2 |
| Recreational Goods Rental |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
3 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
2 |
| Roofing Contractors |
3 |
| Sales Financing |
2 |
| Sanitary Paper Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
1 |
| Sawmills |
2 |
| Scheduled Freight Air Transportation |
1 |
| Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
4 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
5 |
| Siding Contractors |
3 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
4 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Solid Waste Landfill |
1 |
| Spice and Extract Manufacturing |
2 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Sports Teams and Clubs |
1 |
| Support Activities for Forestry |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
2 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
8 |
| Temporary Shelters |
2 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
5 |
| Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
5 |
| Used Car Dealers |
8 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
4 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
3 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
2 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
6 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
6 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
6 |
Is Buying an Existing Kinston Business a Good Strategy?
We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in North Carolina. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Kinston.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.
Naming the Company
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Kinston, it's very important that you make sure no other North Carolina company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Kinston, North Carolina
It's very important that you form your business as a legal structure. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporation 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 North Carolina, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in North Carolina. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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 ESOP Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Kinston, North Carolina, our information on Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.
Marketing Your New Company
Whether your goal is to attract Kinston customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a solid marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Getting Publicity is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Kinston. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Kinston businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Kinston, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Kinston, North Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Kinston.
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