Opening a Business in Southaven, Mississippi

Contemplating starting a business in Southaven, Mississippi? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Southaven.

Which Business to Choose?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Major Electric Appliances Repair & Parts Business guide or our Opening a Maternity Clothing & Accessories Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.

Don't forget that your new startup will be located in Southaven. If Southaven already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Only by spending some time analyzing Southaven demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Southaven, Mississippi Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1173
5-9 Employees	552
10-19 Employees	354
20-49 Employees	240
50-99 Employees	90
100-249 Employees	54
250-499 Employees	9
500-999 Employees	3
1000+ Employees	3
All Southaven Businesses	2478

As a new Southaven entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Southaven 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
Advertising Agencies	1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance	2
Architectural Services	2
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops	4
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	10
Automotive Transmission Repair	1
Baked Goods Stores	1
Beauty Salons	11
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	6
Blood and Organ Banks	1
Boat Dealers	1
Book Stores	3
Business Associations	3
Cafeterias	2
Car Washes	1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Child and Youth Services	1
Child Day Care Services	12
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores	1
Civic and Social Organizations	1
Clothing Accessories Stores	1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	4
Commercial Lithographic Printing	2
Computer and Software Stores	2
Computer Systems Design Services	2
Consumer Lending	4
Convenience Stores	4
Couriers	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Digital Printing	1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers	1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers	1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers	1
Discount Department Stores	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	1
Electric Power Distribution	2
Electrical Contractors	5
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Employment Placement Agencies	1
Engineering Services	6
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	3
Family Clothing Stores	5
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	3
Floor Covering Stores	2
Florists	3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	3
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers	1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental	1
Freight Transportation Arrangement	4
Full-Service Restaurants	30
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
Furniture Stores	4
General Automotive Repair	9
General Freight Trucking, Local	2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
General Warehousing and Storage	3
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	4
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	2
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers	3
Home Centers	1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers	1
Home Health Care Services	2
Household Appliance Stores	3
Industrial Gas Manufacturing	1
Industrial Launderers	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	24
Investigation Services	1
Janitorial Services	7
Jewelry Stores	3
Kidney Dialysis Centers	1
Land Subdivision	1
Landscaping Services	7
Limited-Service Restaurants	32
Limousine Service	1
Mail-Order Houses	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Marking Device Manufacturing	1
Masonry Contractors	1
Medical Laboratories	2
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Mobile Food Services	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
Motor and Generator Manufacturing	1
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing	1
Motor Vehicle Towing	1
Motorcycle Dealers	3
Natural Gas Distribution	1
New Car Dealers	5
New Housing Operative Builders	3
Nonresidential Property Managers	2
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Chiropractors	2
Offices of Dentists	15
Offices of Lawyers	22
Offices of Optometrists	5
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	6
Optical Goods Stores	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	5
Payroll Services	1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	3
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	7
Photography Studios, Portrait	5
Political Organizations	1
Private Mail Centers	1
Public Relations Agencies	1
Quick Printing	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	1
Real Estate Credit	12
Residential Property Managers	4
Residential Remodelers	2
Retail Bakeries	1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	1
Securities Brokerage	3
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Shoe Stores	6
Sign Manufacturing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	4
Software Publishers	1
Special Needs Transportation	1
Sporting Goods Stores	5
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Sports Teams and Clubs	2
Support Activities for Forestry	1
Tax Preparation Services	6
Temporary Help Services	3
Tire Dealers	5
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	2
Tobacco Stores	1
Travel Agencies	1
Used Car Dealers	5
Used Merchandise Stores	3
Veterinary Services	6
Video Tape and Disc Rental	3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	3
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	12

Naming the Company

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 need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

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

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are planning on starting a business in Southaven, it's critical that you ensure that no other Mississippi company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Southaven, Mississippi

A critical step is ensuring 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.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in Mississippi, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Mississippi. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. 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. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as ESOP Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Southaven, Mississippi, our information on Incorporating in Mississippi may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Mississippi.

Promoting Your New Business

To grow your Southaven business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Billboard Advertising Best Practices is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

The Art of Selling

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Southaven business, you need to focus on sales.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Sales Forecasting offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

Good entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

With your business being located in Southaven, Mississippi, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Mississippi universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Southaven entrepreneurs.

Moving Forward

As an entrepreneur in Southaven, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Southaven and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Southaven entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Southaven, Mississippi

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

• Resources for Southaven, Mississippi Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Southaven entrepreneurs.
• Mississippi Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Mississippi.
• Mississippi Small Business Development Center - The Mississippi Small Business Development Centers (MSBDC) is dedicated to helping build and grow businesses in Mississippi. For new entrepreneurs, this is an excellent resource.
• Southaven, Mississippi Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Southaven, Mississippi newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Southaven area.
• Southaven, Mississippi Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Southaven, Mississippi area radio stations.
• Southaven, Mississippi Payroll Services - This list includes Southaven, Mississippi payroll services, national payroll services for Southaven, and helpful information on choosing a Southaven payroll service.

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