West Virginia Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Spencer, West Virginia

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

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneurial life is hard work, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

  • Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Spencer. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
  • Peruse Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
  • Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Finding Your Niche in Life.

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 How to Start a Model Makers Business guide or our Starting a Physicians & Surgeons Clinics Business guide.

Remember that you are opening your new business in Spencer. Some businesses will do better in Spencer than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Spencer demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Spencer, West Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
5330
5-9 Employees
1248
10-19 Employees
975
20-49 Employees
624
50-99 Employees
234
100-249 Employees
39
250-499 Employees
39
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Spencer Businesses
8489

As a new Spencer entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Spencer 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
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Car Washes
2
Child Day Care Services
2
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells
2
Electric Power Distribution
1
Engineering Services
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Floor Covering Stores
2
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
2
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
4
General Automotive Repair
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Hardware Stores
1
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
6
Jewelry Stores
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
5
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers
1
Logging
2
Mail-Order Houses
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
Natural Gas Liquid Extraction
1
New Car Dealers
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
2
Offices of Lawyers
3
Offices of Optometrists
2
Optical Goods Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Residential Remodelers
2
Roofing Contractors
1
Sawmills
2
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Tax Preparation Services
1
Testing Laboratories
2
Tobacco Stores
1
Tradebinding and Related Work
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1

Company Formation in Spencer, West Virginia

A critical step is ensuring 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.

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. 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 Piercing the Corporate Veil. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Spencer, West Virginia, our information on Incorporating in West Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in West Virginia.

The Role of the Business Plan

Writing a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Outsourcing. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in West Virginia.

Startup Financing Basics

Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Spencer business is not an easy task. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Business Line of Credit.

For Spencer entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of West Virginia Angel Investors and our List of West Virginia Venture Capital Firms.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

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

With your business being located in Spencer, West Virginia, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local West Virginia educational institutions. We also recommend you look into networking groups or organizations in which Spencer entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

What's Next?

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Spencer businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Spencer 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 Spencer, West Virginia

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

More Business Startup Guides for West Virginia

Starting a Business in Sistersville
Starting a Business in Summersville

Browse All Business Startup Guides for West Virginia
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary