Alabama Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Athens, Alabama

Need help starting a business in Athens, Alabama? We've got the information you need to open a business in Athens.

Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?

Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you certain you are ready to take on this challenge?

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

  • Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Athens. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
  • Take a look at Starting a Company. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
  • Talk it over with a close friend or partner. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at How to Evaluate a Business Idea.

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 Computer Hardware & Supplies Business guide or our Starting a Cotton & Cotton Goods Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.

Don't forget that you are starting a business in Athens. Some businesses will do better in Athens than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Athens demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Athens, Alabama Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
19152
5-9 Employees
7236
10-19 Employees
4752
20-49 Employees
2196
50-99 Employees
828
100-249 Employees
252
250-499 Employees
72
500-999 Employees
108
1000+ Employees
36
All Athens Businesses
34632

As a new Athens entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Athens 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
Architectural Services
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
9
Automotive Transmission Repair
3
Baked Goods Stores
1
Barber Shops
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Boat Dealers
2
Book Stores
5
Building Inspection Services
2
Business Associations
2
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Cement Manufacturing
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
3
Child Day Care Services
12
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
2
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
4
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Consumer Lending
9
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
3
Convenience Stores
8
Couriers
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Unions
5
Custom Computer Programming Services
5
Dental Laboratories
4
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Educational Support Services
1
Electrical Contractors
5
Electronic Shopping
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
3
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Facilities Support Services
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
5
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
5
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Framing Contractors
4
Full-Service Restaurants
19
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
7
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
2
Furniture Stores
8
General Automotive Repair
3
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Rental Centers
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Centers
2
Home Health Care Services
2
Household Appliance Stores
1
Ice Manufacturing
1
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
1
Industrial Launderers
1
Interior Design Services
1
Janitorial Services
6
Jewelry Stores
5
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
2
Landscaping Services
13
Libraries and Archives
1
Locksmiths
1
Logging
2
Machine Shops
5
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Marinas
1
Masonry Contractors
6
Men's Clothing Stores
2
Metal Stamping
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Motor Vehicle Towing
2
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Museums
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
New Car Dealers
4
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
4
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
10
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
15
Offices of Lawyers
19
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Optical Goods Stores
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Paint and Coating Manufacturing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Payroll Services
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
6
Photography Studios, Portrait
5
Political Organizations
1
Poultry Processing
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
3
Residential Property Managers
4
Residential Remodelers
10
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
1
Roofing Contractors
2
Sales Financing
1
Securities Brokerage
5
Shoe Stores
3
Siding Contractors
3
Sign Manufacturing
2
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
4
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Testing Laboratories
1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
5
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
9
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
4
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
5
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
3
Wood Preservation
1

Forming a Company in Athens, Alabama

It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will protect 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.

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. If you are starting a business in Alabama, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Alabama. As it turns out, 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 basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Athens, Alabama, our information on Incorporating in Alabama may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Alabama.

Marketing Your New Business

To rise above the crowd in Athens and build your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Local Search is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Sell

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

The key to selling is to set sales goals goals and monitor your progress towards those goals. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Selling Products on eBay 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.

Never Give Up

As an entrepreneur in Athens, 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 Athens businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Athens 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 Athens, Alabama

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

  • Resources for Athens, Alabama Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Athens 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.

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