Contemplating starting a business in Phenix City, Alabama? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Phenix City.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
Most new businesses do not succeed, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed 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 Phenix City. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Phenix City, Alabama Demographic Information
Phenix City has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Phenix City demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Phenix City.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1284 |
| 5-9 Employees |
567 |
| 10-19 Employees |
279 |
| 20-49 Employees |
204 |
| 50-99 Employees |
54 |
| 100-249 Employees |
21 |
| 250-499 Employees |
6 |
| 500-999 Employees |
6 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Phenix City Businesses |
2421 |
As a new Phenix City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Phenix City 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 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
8 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
12 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
| Blood and Organ Banks |
2 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
2 |
| Broadwoven Fabric Mills |
2 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Carbon Black Manufacturing |
1 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
4 |
| Child Day Care Services |
8 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
8 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
4 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Concrete Pipe Manufacturing |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
2 |
| Consumer Lending |
5 |
| Convenience Stores |
3 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
3 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drafting Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
2 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
3 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
10 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
2 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
2 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
3 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fish and Seafood Markets |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
6 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
2 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
17 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
6 |
| Furniture Stores |
2 |
| General Automotive Repair |
11 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
3 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
1 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Historical Sites |
1 |
| Home Centers |
2 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Human Rights Organizations |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
14 |
| Iron Foundries |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
8 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
2 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
9 |
| Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing |
1 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
2 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
47 |
| Linen Supply |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
2 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
6 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Mineral Wool Manufacturing |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
3 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
1 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
5 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
2 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
4 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Bank Holding Companies |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
5 |
| Offices of Dentists |
8 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
19 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
4 |
| Paperboard Mills |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
6 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
3 |
| Political Organizations |
1 |
| Precision Turned Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Radio Networks |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
2 |
| Real Estate Credit |
8 |
| Repossession Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
2 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
4 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
| Sawmills |
1 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
3 |
| Shoe Stores |
2 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
6 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
3 |
| Taxi Service |
2 |
| Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Temporary Shelters |
3 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
2 |
| Tire Dealers |
7 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
2 |
| Truss Manufacturing |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
9 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
6 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
6 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
5 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
4 |
Have You Considered Franchising?
Visit the business district of Phenix City and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?
We highly recommend you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising Mistakes. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Representative franchise opportunities include NYPD Pizza and Diamond Dave's Mexican Restaurants. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Closet Design and Construction Franchises and Payroll Service Franchises.
Note on Phenix City Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Phenix City.
Is Buying an Existing Phenix City Business a Good Strategy?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Alabama. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Phenix City.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Company Formation in Phenix City, Alabama
A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. 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.
Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Alabama, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Alabama. In fact, you can 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'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 Offshore Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Phenix City, Alabama, our information on Incorporating in Alabama may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Alabama.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
Having a business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Alabama.
Moving Forward
Most new Phenix City 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.
We are here to help Phenix City businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Phenix City, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Phenix City, Alabama
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Phenix City.
- Resources for Phenix City, Alabama Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Phenix City 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.
- Phenix City, Alabama Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Phenix City, Alabama newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Phenix City area.
- Phenix City, Alabama Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Phenix City, Alabama area radio stations.
- Phenix City, Alabama Payroll Services - This list includes Phenix City, Alabama payroll services, national payroll services for Phenix City, and helpful information on choosing a Phenix City payroll service.
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