Open a Business in Lawrenceville, Virginia

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before quitting your day job, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

• Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Lawrenceville. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
• Take a look at The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
• Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Lawrenceville, Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1494
5-9 Employees	630
10-19 Employees	324
20-49 Employees	180
50-99 Employees	90
100-249 Employees	36
250-499 Employees	36
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Lawrenceville Businesses	2790

As a new Lawrenceville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lawrenceville 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
Ambulance Services	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	1
Beauty Salons	1
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers	1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Business Associations	1
Car Washes	1
Child Day Care Services	2
Civic and Social Organizations	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Convenience Stores	2
Credit Unions	1
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electronic Shopping	1
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Engineering Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	2
Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	1
Florists	2
Food Service Contractors	1
Full-Service Restaurants	4
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	2
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	4
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Hardware Stores	2
Heating Oil Dealers	1
Home Health Care Services	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Ice Manufacturing	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	4
Janitorial Services	1
Land Subdivision	1
Landscape Architectural Services	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	5
Logging	2
Machine Shops	1
Masonry Contractors	2
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Dentists	2
Offices of Lawyers	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	1
Residential Remodelers	1
Sawmills	3
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Site Preparation Contractors	1
Solid Waste Collection	1
Solid Waste Landfill	1
Support Activities for Forestry	1
Tax Preparation Services	2
Timber Tract Operations	2
Tire Dealers	2
Truck Trailer Manufacturing	1
Used Car Dealers	3
Veterinary Services	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing	1

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Virginia.

Startup Financing Basics

Getting your Lawrenceville business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Borrowing Money from Friends and Family.

For Lawrenceville entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, you'll want to take a look at our List of Virginia Angel Investors and our List of Virginia Venture Capital Firms.

Promoting Your New Business

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

We have some excellent resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Facebook Advertising is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

The best entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Lawrenceville, Virginia, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Virginia educational institutions. It's also wise to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Lawrenceville entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Lawrenceville. 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 Lawrenceville businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Lawrenceville, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lawrenceville, Virginia

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

• Resources for Lawrenceville, Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Lawrenceville entrepreneurs.
• Virginia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Virginia.
• Virginia Small Business Development Center - Virginia Small Business Development Centers offer professional business counseling, training and information resources to help grow and strengthen Virginia businesses.
• Lawrenceville, Virginia Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Lawrenceville, Virginia newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Lawrenceville area.
• Lawrenceville, Virginia Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Lawrenceville, Virginia area radio stations.

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