Mississippi Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Columbus, Mississippi
Contemplating starting a business in Columbus, Mississippi? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Columbus.
Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?
Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Columbus. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- You should read Starting a Company. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Talk it over with a close friend or partner. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.
Which Business to Choose?
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 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 an Educational Testing Service guide or our Opening a Geriatric Care Nursing Homes Business guide.
Remember that you are opening your new business in Columbus. If Columbus already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Only by spending some time analyzing Columbus demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Columbus, Mississippi Demographic Information
Columbus has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Columbus demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Columbus.
Businesses
As a new Columbus entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Columbus 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.
Businesses
What About Buying an Existing Columbus Business?
We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Mississippi. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Columbus.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Promoting Your New Company
To grow your Columbus business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Creating a Press Kit is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Building Up Your Sales
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Columbus or are selling to customers throughout Mississippi, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Tips on Customer Referrals offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Columbus. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Columbus businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Columbus 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 Columbus, Mississippi
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Columbus.
- Resources for Columbus, Mississippi Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Columbus entrepreneurs.
- Mississippi Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Mississippi.
- Mississippi Small Business Development Center - The Mississippi Small Business Development Centers (MSBDC) is dedicated to helping build and grow businesses in Mississippi. For new entrepreneurs, this is an excellent resource.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Mississippi
Starting a Business in Columbia
Starting a Business in Corinth
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Mississippi
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
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