Open a Business in Lexington, Virginia

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

Which Business to Choose?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. We recommend that you read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 Congressional Representatives Business guide or our How to Start a Spinning & Weaving Instruction Business guide.

Don't forget that you are starting a business in Lexington. Some businesses will do better in Lexington than others. A critical consideration is whether Lexington demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Lexington, Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	16269
5-9 Employees	5610
10-19 Employees	3723
20-49 Employees	1938
50-99 Employees	306
100-249 Employees	255
250-499 Employees	102
500-999 Employees	51
1000+ Employees	0
All Lexington Businesses	28254

As a new Lexington entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lexington 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
Architectural Services	2
Art Dealers	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	2
Barber Shops	1
Beauty Salons	7
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	5
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	2
Book Stores	3
Bowling Centers	1
Building Inspection Services	2
Business Associations	2
Car Washes	1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Child Day Care Services	7
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores	2
Civic and Social Organizations	8
Clothing Accessories Stores	2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Commercial Screen Printing	1
Consumer Lending	1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities	1
Convention and Trade Show Organizers	1
Couriers	1
Dance Companies	2
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells	1
Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters	1
Electric Power Distribution	2
Electrical Contractors	6
Emergency and Other Relief Services	1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	1
Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders	1
Fine Arts Schools	2
Finish Carpentry Contractors	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Floor Covering Stores	1
Florists	2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	2
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing	1
Food Service Contractors	4
Framing Contractors	1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets	1
Full-Service Restaurants	28
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	6
General Freight Trucking, Local	2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	6
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Grantmaking Foundations	3
Hardware Stores	2
Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal	1
Historical Sites	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	1
Home Centers	2
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers	1
Home Health Care Services	2
Homes for the Elderly	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	8
Internet Service Providers	1
Janitorial Services	2
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing	1
Jewelry Stores	3
Kidney Dialysis Centers	1
Land Subdivision	1
Landscape Architectural Services	1
Landscaping Services	5
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	17
Logging	4
Machine Shops	2
Mail-Order Houses	1
Masonry Contractors	7
Medical Laboratories	1
Men's Clothing Stores	3
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	2
Museums	2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores	1
New Car Dealers	2
New Housing Operative Builders	2
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	3
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	7
Offices of Lawyers	16
Offices of Optometrists	4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	1
Optical Goods Stores	2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	4
Passenger Car Rental	1
Periodical Publishers	3
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	4
Photography Studios, Portrait	2
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas	1
Private Mail Centers	1
Professional Organizations	1
Quick Printing	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	1
Real Estate Credit	2
Remediation Services	2
Residential Property Managers	1
Residential Remodelers	12
Roofing Contractors	1
Rooming and Boarding Houses	18
Sales Financing	1
Sawmills	1
Securities Brokerage	4
Site Preparation Contractors	5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	2
Special Needs Transportation	1
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Sports Teams and Clubs	1
Tax Preparation Services	2
Temporary Help Services	1
Tire Dealers	2
Travel Agencies	1
Used Car Dealers	2
Used Merchandise Stores	3
Veterinary Services	3
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	2
Women's Clothing Stores	1

Have You Considered Franchising?

Visit the business district of Lexington and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. So, it probably makes sense for you to consider franchising too.

Our advice is to look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Evaluating Franchise Opportunities. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Woodfield Suites and Hawthorn Suites. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Car Wash Franchises and Healthy Alternative Foods Franchises.

Note on Lexington Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Lexington.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Having a business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Expert Advice on Business Plans. You should also take advantage of free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Virginia.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Raising money to fund your new Lexington business is a difficult chore. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising money, such as 504 Loans.

For Lexington entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Virginia Angel Investors and our List of Virginia Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Business

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

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Advertising Campaigns is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

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

With your business being located in Lexington, Virginia, you should check out some of the many programs available at nearby Virginia universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Lexington entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

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

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

We are here to help Lexington businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Lexington, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lexington, Virginia

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

• Resources for Lexington, Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Lexington 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.
• Lexington, Virginia Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Lexington, Virginia newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Lexington area.
• Lexington, Virginia Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Lexington, Virginia area radio stations.
• Lexington, Virginia Payroll Services - This list includes Lexington, Virginia payroll services, national payroll services for Lexington, and helpful information on choosing a Lexington payroll service.

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