Opening a Business in Magnolia, Mississippi

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

Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?

An entrepreneurial life is hard work, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain 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:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Magnolia. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
• We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. 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.

Magnolia, Mississippi Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	2160
5-9 Employees	810
10-19 Employees	270
20-49 Employees	300
50-99 Employees	30
100-249 Employees	90
250-499 Employees	30
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Magnolia Businesses	3690

As a new Magnolia entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Magnolia 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
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	2
Bottled Water Manufacturing	1
Child Day Care Services	2
Consumer Lending	2
Convenience Stores	2
Credit Unions	1
Electrical Contractors	1
Elementary and Secondary Schools	2
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	1
Florists	1
Food Service Contractors	1
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Hardware Stores	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	2
Land Subdivision	1
Landscaping Services	2
Limited-Service Restaurants	2
Logging	2
Machine Shops	1
Masonry Contractors	1
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing	1
New Car Dealers	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Dentists	2
Offices of Lawyers	3
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Radio Stations	1
Residential Property Managers	1
Retail Bakeries	1
Sawmills	1
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Siding Contractors	1
Site Preparation Contractors	2
Solid Waste Landfill	1
Tax Preparation Services	1
Temporary Help Services	1
Used Car Dealers	3
Veterinary Services	1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing	1

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Getting your Magnolia business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Angel Investors.

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

Marketing Your New Venture

To rise above the crowd in Magnolia and advance your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Six Tips for Getting Customer Testimonials 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 Magnolia business, you need to focus on sales.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Sales Training offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Good entrepreneurs know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Magnolia, Mississippi, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Mississippi universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Magnolia networking organizations.

Never Give Up

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Magnolia and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Magnolia, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Magnolia, Mississippi

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

• Resources for Magnolia, Mississippi Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Magnolia 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.
• Magnolia, Mississippi Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Magnolia, Mississippi newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Magnolia area.

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