Thinking about starting a business in Opelika, Alabama? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Opelika.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
Before you get too far along in the process, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Before you move forward with starting a business, be sure to do these three things:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Opelika. 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 Are You Starting?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.
If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Mechanical Seals Dealers Business guide or our Starting a Metal Container Manufacturers Business guide.
Always keep in mind that your new business will be in Opelika. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Opelika. Only by spending some time analyzing Opelika demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Opelika, Alabama Demographic Information
Opelika has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Opelika demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Opelika.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1307 |
| 5-9 Employees |
624 |
| 10-19 Employees |
411 |
| 20-49 Employees |
282 |
| 50-99 Employees |
96 |
| 100-249 Employees |
42 |
| 250-499 Employees |
21 |
| 500-999 Employees |
12 |
| 1000+ Employees |
6 |
| All Opelika Businesses |
2801 |
As a new Opelika entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Opelika 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 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Automobile Manufacturing |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
2 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
3 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
11 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
3 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
5 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
1 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
| Blood and Organ Banks |
1 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
3 |
| Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills |
1 |
| Broadwoven Fabric Mills |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
3 |
| Car Washes |
2 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
3 |
| Child Day Care Services |
11 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
4 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Commercial Bakeries |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
2 |
| Concrete Pipe Manufacturing |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
9 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
5 |
| Copper Foundries (except Die-Casting) |
1 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
2 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Display Advertising |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
5 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
1 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Fabric Coating Mills |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
9 |
| Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
3 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
1 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
5 |
| Flooring Contractors |
2 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing |
1 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
3 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
3 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Canning |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
22 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
4 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
5 |
| General Automotive Repair |
9 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
2 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
5 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
2 |
| Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
2 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
3 |
| Ice Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
11 |
| Janitorial Services |
8 |
| Jewelry Stores |
4 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
2 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
14 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
4 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
32 |
| Logging |
2 |
| Machine Shops |
5 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
5 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
2 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
1 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
3 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
2 |
| New Car Dealers |
6 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
3 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
10 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
2 |
| Offices of Dentists |
16 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
24 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
5 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
2 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
6 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Precision Turned Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Professional Organizations |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Radio Networks |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
1 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
4 |
| Roofing Contractors |
3 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
| Sawmills |
3 |
| Securities Brokerage |
5 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Setup Paperboard Box Manufacturing |
2 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
6 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
4 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
2 |
| Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing |
2 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
2 |
| Solid Waste Landfill |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Support Activities for Forestry |
2 |
| Surface Active Agent Manufacturing |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
2 |
| Telephone Answering Services |
2 |
| Television Broadcasting |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
6 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Timber Tract Operations |
1 |
| Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers |
3 |
| Tire Dealers |
3 |
| Tire Manufacturing (except Retreading) |
1 |
| Tire Retreading |
1 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
9 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
3 |
| Veterinary Services |
4 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
5 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
2 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
2 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
5 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
7 |
Is Franchising a Better Option?
Visit the business district of Opelika and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Is it perhaps smarter to franchise a business instead of doing it from scratch.
Our recommendation is that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchise Tradeshows. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Sample franchise opportunities include TruGreen - Chemlawn and Heel Quik! Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Specialty Foods Franchises and Health and Beauty Franchises.
Note on Opelika Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Opelika.
Is Buying an Existing Opelika Business a Good Strategy?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Alabama. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Opelika.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.
Naming the Company
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Opelika, it's very important that you make sure you will be the only Alabama company using the business name you have chosen.
Moving Forward
You have a dream -- starting a business in Opelika. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Opelika and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Opelika, Alabama
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Opelika.
- Resources for Opelika, Alabama Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Opelika entrepreneurs.
- Alabama Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Alabama.
- Alabama Small Business Development Center - Alabama's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counsels and trains business people in a wide variety of business topics and provides comprehensive information services and access to experts in many fields. Counseling is provided free of charge to all Alabama small business owners.
- Opelika, Alabama Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Opelika, Alabama newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Opelika area.
- Opelika, Alabama Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Opelika, Alabama area radio stations.
- Opelika, Alabama Payroll Services - This list includes Opelika, Alabama payroll services, national payroll services for Opelika, and helpful information on choosing a Opelika payroll service.
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