Thinking about starting a business in Lenoir, North Carolina? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Lenoir.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
An entrepreneurial life is hard work, 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. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- You should read The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Lenoir, North Carolina Demographic Information
Lenoir has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Lenoir demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Lenoir.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1439 |
| 5-9 Employees |
654 |
| 10-19 Employees |
348 |
| 20-49 Employees |
282 |
| 50-99 Employees |
81 |
| 100-249 Employees |
39 |
| 250-499 Employees |
36 |
| 500-999 Employees |
9 |
| 1000+ Employees |
3 |
| All Lenoir Businesses |
2891 |
As a new Lenoir entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lenoir 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 |
| Adhesive Manufacturing |
1 |
| Advertising Agencies |
2 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
11 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
2 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
3 |
| Book Stores |
3 |
| Business Associations |
2 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
2 |
| Car Washes |
5 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
2 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
4 |
| Child Day Care Services |
9 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
3 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
4 |
| Commodity Contracts Brokerage |
1 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
2 |
| Concrete Pipe Manufacturing |
1 |
| Construction Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
2 |
| Consumer Lending |
6 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
2 |
| Convenience Stores |
6 |
| Couriers |
2 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins |
1 |
| Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing |
5 |
| Dental Laboratories |
3 |
| Diet and Weight Reducing Centers |
1 |
| Direct Mail Advertising |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
13 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
4 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
1 |
| Florists |
2 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Food Service Contractors |
12 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
3 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
23 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
8 |
| General Automotive Repair |
8 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
4 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
3 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
3 |
| Graphic Design Services |
2 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
5 |
| Historical Sites |
1 |
| Home Centers |
2 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
4 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
2 |
| Hunting and Trapping |
1 |
| Industrial Design Services |
1 |
| Institutional Furniture Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
19 |
| Janitorial Services |
7 |
| Jewelry Stores |
3 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
12 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
2 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
31 |
| Logging |
2 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
10 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
2 |
| Motor and Generator Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
2 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
2 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
3 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
6 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
4 |
| Offices of Dentists |
15 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
20 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
2 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
2 |
| Packaging and Labeling Services |
1 |
| Packaging Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
3 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
6 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Precision Turned Product Manufacturing |
2 |
| Professional Organizations |
2 |
| Radio Stations |
2 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
7 |
| Residential Property Managers |
3 |
| Residential Remodelers |
4 |
| Retail Bakeries |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
5 |
| Sawmills |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
7 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
2 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
7 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
2 |
| Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
2 |
| Special Needs Transportation |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
5 |
| Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
4 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Testing Laboratories |
2 |
| Timber Tract Operations |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
3 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
12 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
2 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
3 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
2 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
5 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
3 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
3 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
2 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
1 |
| Wood Preservation |
1 |
| Yarn Spinning Mills |
1 |
Company Formation in Lenoir, North Carolina
It's very important that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Doing so will protect 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. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in North Carolina, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in North Carolina. 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 basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Subchapter S Corporations. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Lenoir, North Carolina, our information on Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in North Carolina.
Promoting Your New Startup
Whether your goal is to attract Lenoir customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your doing well.
We have some useful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Promoting an Online Business is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Ramping Up Sales
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Lenoir 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.
Landing Big Customers 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
Successful entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Lenoir, North Carolina, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby North Carolina universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any Lenoir networking organizations.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Lenoir, 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 Lenoir 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 Lenoir, North Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Lenoir.
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