West Virginia Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Saint Marys, West Virginia

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

Saint Marys, West Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
855
5-9 Employees
480
10-19 Employees
195
20-49 Employees
165
50-99 Employees
0
100-249 Employees
30
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Saint Marys Businesses
1725

As a new Saint Marys entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Saint Marys 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
Beauty Salons
2
Boat Dealers
1
Cafeterias
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Florists
1
Full-Service Restaurants
2
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
3
Janitorial Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
6
Logging
1
New Car Dealers
1
News Dealers and Newsstands
1
Offices of Dentists
3
Offices of Optometrists
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
2
Petroleum Refineries
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Radio Stations
1
Residential Remodelers
1
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Tire Dealers
1
Used Car Dealers
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
5

Selecting a Name For Your Venture

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.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

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

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Saint Marys, it's imperative that you check now that no other West Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.

Company Formation in Saint Marys, West Virginia

It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.

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. Just because you are starting a business in West Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in West Virginia. As it turns out, 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 Getting an EIN. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Saint Marys, West Virginia, our information on Incorporating in West Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in West Virginia.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. 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.

Marketing Your New Venture

Whether your goal is to attract Saint Marys customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Pricing and Positioning discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Selling Tips

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

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Writing Great Proposals 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.

Moving Forward

Most new Saint Marys 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 Saint Marys businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Saint Marys, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Saint Marys, West Virginia

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in West Virginia

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Starting a Business in Shepherdstown

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