West Virginia Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Petersburg, West Virginia

Thinking about starting a business in Petersburg, West Virginia? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Petersburg.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most startup companies do not succeed, in part because the founder did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Petersburg. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Petersburg, West Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3333
5-9 Employees
1584
10-19 Employees
924
20-49 Employees
495
50-99 Employees
99
100-249 Employees
33
250-499 Employees
33
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Petersburg Businesses
6501

As a new Petersburg entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Petersburg 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
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Beauty Salons
4
Bowling Centers
1
Child Day Care Services
4
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Convenience Stores
1
Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
3
Engineering Services
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
2
Framing Contractors
2
Full-Service Restaurants
7
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
General Automotive Repair
4
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Hardware Stores
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
5
Internet Service Providers
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
7
Logging
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
New Car Dealers
3
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Dentists
3
Offices of Lawyers
5
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Radio Stations
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Residential Remodelers
2
Securities Brokerage
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Shoe Stores
1
Siding Contractors
1
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Support Activities for Forestry
1
Tire Dealers
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Petersburg Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in West Virginia. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Petersburg.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Picking a Business Name

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.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Petersburg, it's imperative that you check now that no other West Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Petersburg, West Virginia

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

Incorporation 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. If 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. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Nevada Incorporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Petersburg, West Virginia, our information on 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 vital to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in West Virginia.

How to Sell

Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Petersburg business to do well.

The key to selling is to set sales goals goals and monitor your progress towards those goals. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Tips on Customer Referrals 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.

Next Steps

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

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

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

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

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