Thinking about starting a business in Lenoir City, Tennessee? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Lenoir City.
Are You Ready for the Challenges of Being an Entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Lenoir City. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
Lenoir City, Tennessee Demographic Information
Lenoir City has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Lenoir City demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Lenoir City.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
876 |
| 5-9 Employees |
345 |
| 10-19 Employees |
201 |
| 20-49 Employees |
111 |
| 50-99 Employees |
39 |
| 100-249 Employees |
27 |
| 250-499 Employees |
9 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Lenoir City Businesses |
1608 |
As a new Lenoir City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lenoir 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 |
| Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
4 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
2 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
6 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
1 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
2 |
| Canvas and Related Product Mills |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
3 |
| Child Day Care Services |
5 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
1 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Computer Training |
1 |
| Concrete Pipe Manufacturing |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
2 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
4 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drafting Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
6 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
3 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
3 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
1 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
1 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
18 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
1 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
3 |
| General Automotive Repair |
6 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
2 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Home Centers |
3 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Human Rights Organizations |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
12 |
| Interior Design Services |
2 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
5 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
6 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
17 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Logging |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
6 |
| Meat Processed from Carcasses |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
3 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
2 |
| New Car Dealers |
5 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
1 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
3 |
| Offices of Dentists |
4 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
5 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Packing and Crating |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
3 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
4 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing |
1 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Recreational Goods Rental |
1 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
1 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
3 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
| Sawmills |
1 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
2 |
| Securities Brokerage |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
3 |
| Small Arms Manufacturing |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
4 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
3 |
| Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Television Broadcasting |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
4 |
| Tobacco Stores |
3 |
| Used Car Dealers |
6 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
3 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
5 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
1 |
Company Formation in Lenoir City, Tennessee
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will separate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
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. Just because you are starting a business in Tennessee, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Tennessee. As it turns out, 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's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Piercing the Corporate Veil. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Lenoir City, Tennessee, our information on Incorporating in Tennessee may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Tennessee.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Getting your Lenoir City business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Borrowing Money from Friends and Family.
For Lenoir City entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, browse our List of Tennessee Angel Investors and our List of Tennessee Venture Capital Firms.
Selling Tips
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Lenoir City business, you need to focus on sales.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Hiring Telemarketing Firms to Generate Sales Leads is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
The best entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Lenoir City, Tennessee, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Tennessee universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Lenoir City entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
Never Give Up
As an entrepreneur in Lenoir City, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Lenoir City businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Lenoir City entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lenoir City, Tennessee
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Lenoir City.
- Resources for Lenoir City, Tennessee Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Lenoir 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!
- Lenoir City, Tennessee Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Lenoir City, Tennessee newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Lenoir City area.
- Lenoir City, Tennessee Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Lenoir City, Tennessee area radio stations.
- Lenoir City, Tennessee Payroll Services - This list includes Lenoir City, Tennessee payroll services, national payroll services for Lenoir City, and helpful information on choosing a Lenoir City payroll service.
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