Alabama Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Anniston, Alabama

Are you starting a business in Anniston, Alabama? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Anniston.

Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?

Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

Before you move forward with starting a business, be sure to do these three things:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Anniston. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
  • We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

Anniston, Alabama Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3832
5-9 Employees
1752
10-19 Employees
1320
20-49 Employees
816
50-99 Employees
294
100-249 Employees
108
250-499 Employees
60
500-999 Employees
24
1000+ Employees
6
All Anniston Businesses
8212

As a new Anniston entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Anniston 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
Ambulance Services
2
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
3
Art Dealers
2
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
3
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
4
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
13
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
7
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
2
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Book Stores
1
Bottled Water Manufacturing
1
Bowling Centers
1
Business and Secretarial Schools
2
Business Associations
4
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Cafeterias
1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Car Washes
4
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Caterers
2
Cemeteries and Crematories
2
Child and Youth Services
3
Child Day Care Services
15
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
14
Clay Refractory Manufacturing
1
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Flexographic Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Community Food Services
3
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Consumer Lending
12
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
2
Copper Foundries (except Die-Casting)
1
Couriers
2
Credit Unions
11
Dental Laboratories
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
2
Discount Department Stores
3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
2
Educational Support Services
3
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
9
Elementary and Secondary Schools
5
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
9
Environmental Consulting Services
2
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
4
Facilities Support Services
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
5
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
3
Florists
2
Food Service Contractors
6
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Full-Service Restaurants
26
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
5
Furniture Stores
9
General Automotive Repair
12
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Warehousing and Storage
3
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
3
Grantmaking Foundations
3
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
4
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Centers
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
2
Human Rights Organizations
2
Ice Manufacturing
1
Industrial Building Construction
1
Industrial Valve Manufacturing
1
Internet Service Providers
1
Investment Advice
2
Iron and Steel Forging
2
Iron Foundries
3
Janitorial Services
6
Jewelry Stores
5
Kidney Dialysis Centers
2
Landscaping Services
4
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
47
Limousine Service
1
Locksmiths
3
Logging
2
Machine Shops
5
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Marketing Consulting Services
2
Masonry Contractors
4
Materials Recovery Facilities
1
Meat Markets
2
Media Representatives
1
Medical Laboratories
3
Metal Heat Treating
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Motion Picture and Video Production
2
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Metal Stamping
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Narrow Fabric Mills
1
Natural Gas Distribution
2
New Car Dealers
12
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
4
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
11
Offices of Chiropractors
11
Offices of Dentists
25
Offices of Lawyers
59
Offices of Optometrists
4
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Optical Goods Stores
4
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
4
Paperboard Mills
1
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
6
Photography Studios, Portrait
4
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
1
Political Organizations
1
Portfolio Management
1
Poultry Processing
1
Printing Ink Manufacturing
1
Public Relations Agencies
1
Quick Printing
3
Radio Stations
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
4
Residential Property Managers
3
Residential Remodelers
3
Roofing Contractors
3
Savings Institutions
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
2
Securities Brokerage
4
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
2
Sign Manufacturing
2
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
7
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
2
Tire Dealers
7
Used Car Dealers
17
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
5
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
6
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
7
Women's Clothing Stores
2

Is Franchising a Better Option?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Anniston and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?

Most business experts recommend that you investigate buying a franchise. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Understanding Franchise Contracts. 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 Taco John's International and Monkey Joe's. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Sports Franchises and Dollar Store Franchises.

Note on Anniston Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Anniston.

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Anniston Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Alabama. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Anniston.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.

Startup Financing Basics

Getting your Anniston 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.

Take advantage of our many articles on securing funding, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.

For Anniston entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, we have assembled a List of Alabama Angel Investors and our List of Alabama Venture Capital Firms.

Bring in Revenues

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Anniston or are selling to customers throughout Alabama, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Tips on Customer Referrals is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Moving Forward

You have a dream -- starting a business in Anniston. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Anniston and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Anniston 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 Anniston, Alabama

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

  • Resources for Anniston, Alabama Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Anniston entrepreneurs.
  • Alabama Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Alabama.
  • Alabama Small Business Development Center - Alabama's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counsels and trains business people in a wide variety of business topics and provides comprehensive information services and access to experts in many fields. Counseling is provided free of charge to all Alabama small business owners.

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Alabama

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Starting a Business in Arab

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Alabama
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

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