Open a Business in Louisville, Mississippi

Are you starting a business in Louisville, Mississippi? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Louisville.

Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?

Most new businesses do not succeed, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

• Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Louisville. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
• 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. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

What Business to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? We recommend that you read Good Business Ideas.

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 How to Start a Nanny Referral Service guide or our How to Start a Home Improvement Referral & Information Services Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in Louisville. If Louisville already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Study Louisville demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Louisville, Mississippi Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	5940
5-9 Employees	2010
10-19 Employees	1470
20-49 Employees	660
50-99 Employees	270
100-249 Employees	90
250-499 Employees	60
500-999 Employees	30
1000+ Employees	0
All Louisville Businesses	10530

As a new Louisville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Louisville 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 Glass Replacement Shops	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	4
Beauty Salons	1
Boat Dealers	1
Business Associations	2
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Cafeterias	1
Car Washes	1
Child Day Care Services	7
Clothing Accessories Stores	1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Computer and Software Stores	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers	1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining	1
Consumer Lending	4
Convenience Stores	1
Convention and Trade Show Organizers	1
Cotton Ginning	1
Credit Unions	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Discount Department Stores	1
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	2
Electronic Shopping	1
Elementary and Secondary Schools	2
Envelope Manufacturing	1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	2
Family Clothing Stores	5
Fine Arts Schools	1
Floor Covering Stores	2
Florists	2
Food Service Contractors	1
Framing Contractors	1
Freight Transportation Arrangement	1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets	1
Full-Service Restaurants	4
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	5
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	3
General Freight Trucking, Local	2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Grantmaking Foundations	1
Hardware Stores	1
Home Health Care Services	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	3
Janitorial Services	2
Jewelry Stores	1
Landscaping Services	4
Limited-Service Restaurants	12
Logging	10
Luggage Manufacturing	1
Machine Shops	1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	1
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Motor Vehicle Towing	1
Natural Gas Distribution	1
New Car Dealers	2
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Newspaper Publishers	2
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	4
Offices of Dentists	5
Offices of Lawyers	8
Offices of Optometrists	2
Offices of Other Holding Companies	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	2
One-Hour Photofinishing	1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	4
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas	1
Poultry Processing	1
Radio Stations	2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	2
Residential Property Managers	2
Residential Remodelers	2
Roofing Contractors	1
Sawmills	2
Shoe Stores	1
Site Preparation Contractors	2
Tax Preparation Services	4
Tire Dealers	3
Tobacco Stores	1
Vending Machine Operators	1
Veterinary Services	2
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems	3
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	3

Is Franchising a Better Option?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Louisville and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Evidently, there must be some significant advantages to purchasing a franchise.

We highly recommend you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Costs of Franchise Ownership. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

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

Representative franchise opportunities include Schlotzsky's Deli and Hydro Physics Pipe Inspection. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Wine Franchises and Framing Store Franchises.

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

Forming a Company in Louisville, Mississippi

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. 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.

Incorporating 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. If you are starting a business in Mississippi, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Mississippi. In fact, you are allowed to 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 are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Getting an EIN. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Louisville, Mississippi, our information on Incorporating in Mississippi may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Mississippi.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

Writing a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Mississippi.

Bring in Revenues

Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Louisville business to do well.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Sales Training is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

Moving Forward

Most new Louisville businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

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

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Louisville and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Louisville 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 Louisville, Mississippi

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

• Resources for Louisville, Mississippi Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Louisville entrepreneurs.
• Mississippi Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Mississippi.
• Mississippi Small Business Development Center - The Mississippi Small Business Development Centers (MSBDC) is dedicated to helping build and grow businesses in Mississippi. For new entrepreneurs, this is an excellent resource.
• Louisville, Mississippi Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Louisville, Mississippi newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Louisville area.
• Louisville, Mississippi Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Louisville, Mississippi area radio stations.

More Business Startup Guides for Mississippi
Starting a Business in Liberty
Starting a Business in Lucedale

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Mississippi