West Virginia Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Parsons, West Virginia

Need help starting a business in Parsons, West Virginia? We've got the information you need to open a business in Parsons.

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

  • Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Parsons. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
  • Peruse Why Small Businesses Fail. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
  • Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

Parsons, West Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
387
5-9 Employees
180
10-19 Employees
72
20-49 Employees
90
50-99 Employees
18
100-249 Employees
9
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Parsons Businesses
756

As a new Parsons entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Parsons 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 Parts and Accessories Stores
1
Bituminous Coal Underground Mining
1
Bottled Water Manufacturing
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Electrical Contractors
1
Flooring Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
3
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Gum and Wood Chemical Manufacturing
1
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
4
Logging
4
New Car Dealers
1
Offices of Dentists
1
Offices of Lawyers
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Residential Remodelers
3
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1

Selecting a Name For Your Business

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.

Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Parsons, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another West Virginia business.

Company Formation in Parsons, West Virginia

It's essential that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

When forming a company, you will decide among many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in West Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in West Virginia. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Subchapter S Corporations. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Parsons, West Virginia, our web page covering Incorporating in West Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in West Virginia.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Expert Advice on Business Plans. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in West Virginia.

Marketing Your New Business

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

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Advertising in the Yellow Pages is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Bring in Revenues

Being able to sell is essential to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Parsons or are selling to customers throughout West Virginia, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

The key to selling is to set sales goals goals and monitor your progress towards those goals. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Closing Sales 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.

What's Next?

You have a dream -- starting a business in Parsons. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Parsons 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 Parsons, West Virginia

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

More Business Startup Guides for West Virginia

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