South Carolina Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Clemson, South Carolina

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

What Business to Start

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.

If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Racquetball & Handball Courts Business guide or our Opening a Printing Rollers Business guide.

Remember that you are starting a business in Clemson. Some businesses will do better in Clemson than others. A critical consideration is whether Clemson demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Clemson, South Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
529
5-9 Employees
263
10-19 Employees
153
20-49 Employees
111
50-99 Employees
45
100-249 Employees
9
250-499 Employees
12
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
0
All Clemson Businesses
1125

As a new Clemson entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Clemson 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 Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
6
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Book Stores
4
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
1
Business Associations
4
Car Washes
1
Carpet and Rug Mills
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
4
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Consumer Lending
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
3
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
1
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Engineering Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
5
Florists
4
Food Service Contractors
7
Full-Service Restaurants
22
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
4
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
Grantmaking Foundations
2
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
2
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
7
Investment Advice
2
Janitorial Services
1
Land Subdivision
2
Landscaping Services
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
24
Mail-Order Houses
1
Marketing Consulting Services
2
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Chiropractors
3
Offices of Dentists
10
Offices of Lawyers
7
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
3
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Organizations
1
Quick Printing
1
Radio Networks
1
Radio Stations
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Residential Remodelers
3
Rooming and Boarding Houses
1
Savings Institutions
1
Securities Brokerage
3
Shoe Stores
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Sporting Goods Stores
4
Tax Preparation Services
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Tire Dealers
1
Travel Agencies
2
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Should You Buy an Existing Clemson Business?

We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in South Carolina. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Clemson.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Selecting a Name For Your 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.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Clemson, it's very important that you make sure no other South Carolina company is using the business name you want to use.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Having a business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in South Carolina.

Raising Capital for Your Venture

Getting your Clemson business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Only Idiots Send Venture Capitalists Business Plans.

For Clemson entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of South Carolina Angel Investors and our List of South Carolina Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

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

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Comparing Advertising to PR is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Moving Forward

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Clemson and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Clemson, South Carolina

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

More Business Startup Guides for South Carolina

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