Alabama Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Daphne, Alabama

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

Which Business to Choose?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 How to Start a Back Number Magazines Business guide or our Opening a Surfing Instruction Business guide.

Always keep in mind that your new business will be in Daphne. Some businesses will do better in Daphne than others. A critical consideration is whether Daphne demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Daphne, Alabama Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1068
5-9 Employees
408
10-19 Employees
261
20-49 Employees
207
50-99 Employees
54
100-249 Employees
18
250-499 Employees
3
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
3
All Daphne Businesses
2025

As a new Daphne entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Daphne 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
3
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Beauty Salons
10
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Boat Dealers
2
Book Stores
2
Cafeterias
2
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
3
Car Washes
2
Caterers
1
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
7
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Collection Agencies
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Consumer Lending
2
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
2
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
1
Couriers
2
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Document Preparation Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Electrical Contractors
6
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Engineering Services
13
Environmental Consulting Services
3
Family Clothing Stores
5
Fine Arts Schools
4
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
4
Floor Covering Stores
4
Florists
3
Food Service Contractors
1
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
2
Framing Contractors
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
2
Full-Service Restaurants
22
Furniture Stores
6
General Automotive Repair
8
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
2
Hardware Stores
1
Home Centers
2
Home Health Care Services
5
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
9
Investigation Services
2
Investment Advice
2
Janitorial Services
5
Land Subdivision
2
Landscape Architectural Services
3
Landscaping Services
12
Limited-Service Restaurants
25
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Mail-Order Houses
1
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Masonry Contractors
2
Media Representatives
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Motion Picture and Video Distribution
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
New Car Dealers
8
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
2
Office Administrative Services
2
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
3
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Dentists
11
Offices of Lawyers
19
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
6
Payroll Services
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
6
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Portfolio Management
3
Real Estate Credit
4
Rendering and Meat Byproduct Processing
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
4
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
1
Schiffli Machine Embroidery
1
Securities Brokerage
3
Shoe Stores
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Sports and Recreation Instruction
4
Temporary Help Services
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
3
Tobacco Stores
1
Used Car Dealers
3
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
12
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
3

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Daphne 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 Daphne.

If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Naming the Company

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.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Daphne, it's very important that you make sure no other Alabama company is using the business name you want to use.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Getting your Daphne business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

Take advantage of our many articles on securing funding, such as Realistic Debt Financing Options.

For Daphne entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Alabama Angel Investors and our List of Alabama Venture Capital Firms.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

The best entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Daphne, Alabama, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Alabama educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Daphne entrepreneurs.

What's Next?

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

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Daphne businesses to be successful. 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 Daphne, Alabama

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

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