Thinking about starting a business in Princeton, West Virginia? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Princeton.
Princeton, West Virginia Demographic Information
Princeton has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Princeton demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Princeton.
| Business Size | # of Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
13860 |
| 5-9 Employees |
7140 |
| 10-19 Employees |
3948 |
| 20-49 Employees |
2982 |
| 50-99 Employees |
546 |
| 100-249 Employees |
546 |
| 250-499 Employees |
42 |
| 500-999 Employees |
42 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Princeton Businesses |
29106 |
As a new Princeton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Princeton 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 |
|
Architectural Services |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
2 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
6 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
2 |
| Beauty Salons |
10 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
|
Building Inspection Services |
1 |
| Business and Secretarial Schools |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
2 |
|
Child and Youth Services |
3 |
| Child Day Care Services |
3 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
3 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
|
Consumer Lending |
2 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
1 |
| Couriers |
2 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Display Advertising |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
6 |
|
Electrical Contractors |
3 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
3 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
2 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
2 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
3 |
|
Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
18 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
3 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
4 |
| General Automotive Repair |
8 |
|
General Freight Trucking, Local |
2 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
|
Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
3 |
| Industrial Building Construction |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
14 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investigation Services |
2 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
|
Janitorial Services |
7 |
| Jewelry Stores |
3 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
6 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
2 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
23 |
| Logging |
2 |
| Machine Shops |
6 |
|
Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
2 |
| Medical Laboratories |
3 |
| Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
2 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
2 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
|
Nail Salons |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
2 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
3 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
3 |
| Office Administrative Services |
3 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
7 |
|
Offices of Chiropractors |
3 |
| Offices of Dentists |
11 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
25 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
1 |
|
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
10 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Radio Networks |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
|
Residential Remodelers |
8 |
| Sawmills |
3 |
| Securities Brokerage |
3 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
|
Site Preparation Contractors |
2 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
3 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
1 |
| Sports Teams and Clubs |
1 |
| Support Activities for Coal Mining |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
|
Tire Dealers |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
4 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
4 |
| Veterinary Services |
3 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
2 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
|
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Wood Preservation |
2 |
Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?
As you drive around Princeton, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
We highly recommend you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as How to Find Financing for Franchises. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include A-Pro Home Inspection and The Learning Experience. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Senior Care Franchises and Child Entertainment Franchises.
Note on Princeton Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Princeton.
Forming a Company in Princeton, West Virginia
It's very important that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
The entity you form can be 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. If you are starting a business in West Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in West Virginia. In fact, you are allowed to 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 are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as ESOP Formation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Princeton, West Virginia, our information on Incorporating in West Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in West Virginia.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Getting your Princeton business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Business Cash Advances.
For Princeton entrepreneurs who need startup capital, we have assembled a List of West Virginia Angel Investors and our List of West Virginia Venture Capital Firms.
Bring in Revenues
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Princeton business to do well.
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.
Good Sales Strategies 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.
How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities
Successful business owners recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.
With your business being located in Princeton, West Virginia, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local West Virginia educational institutions. It's also wise to see if there are any networking organizations for Princeton entrepreneurs.
Now It's Up To You
Most new Princeton businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Princeton and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Princeton, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Princeton, West Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Princeton.
- Resources for Princeton, West Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Princeton entrepreneurs.
- West Virginia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in West Virginia.
- Wisconsin Small Business Development Center - Wisconsin Small Business Development Centers offer a variety of educational services to small-businesses. The low-cost courses, seminars, and workshops cover both basic and complex topics, from marketing to management techniques to business plan development.
- Princeton, West Virginia Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Princeton, West Virginia newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Princeton area.
- Princeton, West Virginia Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Princeton, West Virginia area radio stations.
- Princeton, West Virginia Payroll Services - This list includes Princeton, West Virginia payroll services, national payroll services for Princeton, and helpful information on choosing a Princeton payroll service.
- Princeton, West Virginia Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Princeton, West Virginia, such as business brokers in Princeton and other helpful information on how to buy a Princeton business.
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