Georgia Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Athens, Georgia

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you positive 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.

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Athens. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
  • Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Athens, Georgia 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
50880
5-9 Employees
20688
10-19 Employees
14904
20-49 Employees
10332
50-99 Employees
3564
100-249 Employees
1476
250-499 Employees
504
500-999 Employees
72
1000+ Employees
108
All Athens Businesses
102528

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
Amusement Arcades
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
2
Architectural Services
2
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
13
Barber Shops
2
Beauty Salons
50
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
2
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
27
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
7
Breweries
1
Building Inspection Services
3
Business and Secretarial Schools
1
Business Associations
7
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Cafeterias
9
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Caterers
7
Cement Manufacturing
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
3
Child and Youth Services
3
Child Day Care Services
20
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
5
Claims Adjusting
2
Clothing Accessories Stores
3
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
6
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Bakeries
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
5
Commercial Photography
1
Community Food Services
2
Computer and Software Stores
6
Computer Facilities Management Services
2
Computer Systems Design Services
10
Computer Training
1
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Consumer Lending
11
Convenience Stores
9
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
2
Couriers
4
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
3
Credit Unions
8
Crown and Closure Manufacturing
1
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Dental Laboratories
2
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
3
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
8
Discount Department Stores
2
Display Advertising
1
Document Preparation Services
4
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
36
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Educational Support Services
6
Electric Power Distribution
3
Electrical Contractors
19
Electronic Shopping
4
Emergency and Other Relief Services
2
Employment Placement Agencies
2
Engineering Services
14
Environmental Consulting Services
9
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
4
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
5
Facilities Support Services
1
Fine Arts Schools
3
Finish Carpentry Contractors
5
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
14
Flight Training
1
Floor Covering Stores
5
Florists
7
Food Service Contractors
5
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
2
Framing Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
110
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
7
Furniture Stores
5
General Automotive Repair
28
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
18
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Grantmaking Foundations
4
Graphic Design Services
4
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Hardware Stores
4
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
6
Home Health Care Services
4
Home Health Equipment Rental
3
Homes for the Elderly
5
Household Appliance Stores
5
Human Rights Organizations
1
Ice Manufacturing
1
Industrial Design Services
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
57
Interior Design Services
3
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
1
Internet Service Providers
1
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
2
Janitorial Services
16
Jewelry Stores
20
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
9
Landscape Architectural Services
5
Landscaping Services
21
Language Schools
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Locksmiths
3
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Machine Shops
5
Mail-Order Houses
3
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
5
Masonry Contractors
6
Meat Markets
1
Media Representatives
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing
2
Men's Clothing Stores
7
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
7
Motion Picture and Video Production
2
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
2
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Musical Groups and Artists
5
Nail Salons
2
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
10
New Housing Operative Builders
5
Newspaper Publishers
6
Nonresidential Property Managers
4
Nursing Care Facilities
7
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
4
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
23
Offices of Chiropractors
14
Offices of Dentists
42
Offices of Lawyers
71
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Offices of Podiatrists
4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
16
Optical Goods Stores
10
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
3
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing
2
Packing and Crating
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
8
Parking Lots and Garages
1
Passenger Car Rental
3
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
4
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
3
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
15
Photography Studios, Portrait
7
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing
2
Political Organizations
2
Portfolio Management
2
Poultry Processing
2
Prepress Services
3
Professional Employer Organizations
2
Professional Organizations
4
Public Relations Agencies
2
Quick Printing
4
Radio Networks
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Record Production
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
23
Residential Remodelers
13
Retail Bakeries
2
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
1
Roofing Contractors
3
Sales Financing
2
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
17
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Shoe Stores
19
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
17
Software Publishers
2
Solid Waste Collection
3
Special Needs Transportation
3
Sporting Goods Stores
11
Sports and Recreation Instruction
8
Support Activities for Forestry
2
Tax Preparation Services
5
Taxi Service
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
3
Temporary Help Services
16
Temporary Shelters
5
Testing Laboratories
4
Timber Tract Operations
1
Tire Dealers
7
Tire Manufacturing (except Retreading)
1
Tire Retreading
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tobacco Stores
5
Tour Operators
2
Translation and Interpretation Services
1
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
10
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
3
Used Merchandise Stores
12
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
20
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
4
Voluntary Health Organizations
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
2
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
13
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
6

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Athens Business?

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

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

Forming a Company in Athens, Georgia

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 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. If you are starting a business in Georgia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Georgia. In fact, 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 are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Nevada Incorporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Athens, Georgia, our information on Incorporating in Georgia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Georgia.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

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

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.

Given that you are starting a business in Athens, Georgia, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Georgia universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also wise to see if there are any Athens networking organizations.

Next Steps

As an entrepreneur in Athens, 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.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Athens and throughout the United States . We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Athens, Georgia

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

More Startup Articles for Georgia Cities

Starting a Business in Ashburn
Starting a Business in Atlanta

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Georgia
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