West Virginia Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Weston, West Virginia

Contemplating starting a business in Weston, West Virginia? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Weston.

Weston, West Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
4180
5-9 Employees
2040
10-19 Employees
1230
20-49 Employees
420
50-99 Employees
30
100-249 Employees
60
250-499 Employees
120
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Weston Businesses
8080

As a new Weston entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Weston 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
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Beauty Salons
4
Boat Dealers
2
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
3
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
2
Discount Department Stores
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
3
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Floor Covering Stores
1
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Full-Service Restaurants
8
General Automotive Repair
3
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hardware Stores
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
7
Landscaping Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
12
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
2
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Masonry Contractors
2
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
New Car Dealers
3
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
2
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
4
Offices of Lawyers
7
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Optical Goods Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
5
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Shoe Stores
1
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Support Activities for Forestry
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Tire Dealers
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
5
Tobacco Stores
1
Used Car Dealers
4
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Veterinary Services
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Naming the Business

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

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

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Weston, it's critical that you ensure that no other West Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Weston, West Virginia

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

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 can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe 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 Weston, West Virginia, our information on Incorporating in West Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in West Virginia.

Startup Financing Basics

Getting your Weston business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.

Take advantage of our many articles on securing funding, such as 504 Loans.

For Weston entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of West Virginia Angel Investors and our List of West Virginia Venture Capital Firms.

Letting the World Know You Exist

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

You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Branding Advice is an article that will generate 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 Weston business, you need to focus on sales.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

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

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

The best entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Weston, West Virginia, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby West Virginia universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Weston entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

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

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Weston businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Weston, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Weston, West Virginia

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

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