Mississippi Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Laurel, Mississippi

Contemplating starting a business in Laurel, Mississippi? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Laurel.

Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?

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

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 Laurel. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
  • We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

Laurel, Mississippi Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
15710
5-9 Employees
8430
10-19 Employees
5190
20-49 Employees
3390
50-99 Employees
840
100-249 Employees
480
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
90
1000+ Employees
90
All Laurel Businesses
34220

As a new Laurel entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Laurel 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
Amusement Arcades
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
4
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
11
Beauty Salons
6
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
2
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
7
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Book Stores
2
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
1
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
2
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
2
Civic and Social Organizations
4
Clothing Accessories Stores
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Consumer Lending
13
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
2
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
3
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
2
Display Advertising
6
Document Preparation Services
1
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
18
Electronic Computer Manufacturing
1
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
4
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
3
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
6
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
2
Fine Arts Schools
1
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Floor Covering Stores
3
Florists
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
2
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
3
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
4
Furniture Stores
10
General Automotive Repair
11
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
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
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
3
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Home Centers
3
Home Health Care Services
2
Human Rights Organizations
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
28
Internet Service Providers
1
Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
1
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
2
Iron Foundries
1
Jewelry Stores
7
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
6
Language Schools
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
38
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
8
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
5
Men's Clothing Stores
2
Metal Stamping
1
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
2
Motorcycle Dealers
3
Museums
2
Musical Groups and Artists
1
New Car Dealers
5
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
14
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
20
Offices of Lawyers
29
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Optical Goods Stores
2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Parking Lots and Garages
1
Passenger Car Rental
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
3
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
10
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
1
Plate Work Manufacturing
1
Poultry Processing
2
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Radio Stations
5
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
2
Remediation Services
1
Repossession Services
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Retail Bakeries
3
Sales Financing
1
Securities Brokerage
4
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sewage Treatment Facilities
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Shoe Stores
5
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
13
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
6
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
6
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Support Activities for Forestry
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
3
Travel Agencies
2
Truss Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
11
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
7
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
5
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

Picking a Company Name

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 need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

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 opening a business in Laurel, it's critical that you ensure that no other Mississippi company is using the business name you want to use.

Marketing Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract Laurel customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Exhibiting at Tradeshows is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Bring in Revenues

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

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Sales Forecasting offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

The best entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

Given that you are starting a business in Laurel, Mississippi, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Mississippi universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Laurel entrepreneurs.

What's Next?

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Laurel businesses to be successful. 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 Laurel, Mississippi

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

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