North Carolina Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Fayetteville, North Carolina

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

What Type of Business Should You Start?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Evaluating Your 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 Wholesaler & Manufacturer Vending Machine Parts & Supplies Business guide or our How to Start a Wallpapers & Wallcoverings Equipment & Supplies Store guide.

Don't forget that starting a business in Fayetteville has some implications. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Fayetteville. Study Fayetteville demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Fayetteville, North Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
67110
5-9 Employees
31800
10-19 Employees
21450
20-49 Employees
14940
50-99 Employees
4530
100-249 Employees
2400
250-499 Employees
330
500-999 Employees
330
1000+ Employees
90
All Fayetteville Businesses
142980

As a new Fayetteville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Fayetteville 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
3
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
6
Architectural Services
11
Armored Car Services
1
Art Dealers
4
Automobile Manufacturing
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
9
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
43
Automotive Transmission Repair
12
Baked Goods Stores
6
Barber Shops
7
Beauty Salons
28
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
4
Blind and Shade Manufacturing
1
Blood and Organ Banks
2
Boat Dealers
2
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
7
Bowling Centers
3
Building Inspection Services
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
3
Cafeterias
8
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Car Washes
15
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
9
Caterers
3
Cemeteries and Crematories
4
Child and Youth Services
5
Child Day Care Services
94
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
4
Civic and Social Organizations
18
Claims Adjusting
5
Clothing Accessories Stores
4
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
7
Commercial Bakeries
1
Commercial Flexographic Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
5
Commercial Screen Printing
4
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
9
Computer Systems Design Services
9
Computer Training
1
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Concrete Pipe Manufacturing
1
Confectionery and Nut Stores
2
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
3
Consumer Lending
11
Convenience Stores
18
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
2
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
3
Couriers
3
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Bureaus
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
8
Custom Roll Forming
1
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Dental Laboratories
6
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
7
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
3
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
9
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
7
Discount Department Stores
4
Document Preparation Services
2
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
39
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
9
Educational Support Services
3
Electrical Contractors
47
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
8
Emergency and Other Relief Services
2
Employment Placement Agencies
4
Engineering Services
17
Environmental Consulting Services
3
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
11
Family Clothing Stores
26
Family Planning Centers
1
Farm Management Services
1
Fine Arts Schools
11
Finish Carpentry Contractors
7
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
19
Floor Covering Stores
14
Flooring Contractors
11
Florists
12
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
8
Food Service Contractors
7
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
2
Framing Contractors
6
Freight Transportation Arrangement
4
Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
2
Full-Service Restaurants
155
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
7
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
2
General Automotive Repair
59
General Freight Trucking, Local
10
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
3
General Rental Centers
6
General Warehousing and Storage
10
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
15
Glass and Glazing Contractors
2
Grantmaking Foundations
3
Graphic Design Services
3
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
3
Hardware Stores
8
Heating Oil Dealers
4
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
11
Home Centers
4
Home Health Care Services
40
Home Health Equipment Rental
3
Homes for the Elderly
14
Household Appliance Stores
5
Human Rights Organizations
1
Industrial Building Construction
2
Industrial Launderers
3
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
105
Interior Design Services
10
Internet Service Providers
3
Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
1
Investigation Services
2
Investment Advice
9
Janitorial Services
36
Kidney Dialysis Centers
2
Land Subdivision
10
Landscape Architectural Services
5
Landscaping Services
45
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
5
Limited-Service Restaurants
166
Linen Supply
2
Locksmiths
4
Machine Shops
1
Mail-Order Houses
3
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
13
Marketing Consulting Services
8
Masonry Contractors
15
Mattress Manufacturing
2
Media Representatives
3
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
14
Metal Household Furniture Manufacturing
1
Mobile Food Services
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
19
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
8
Motorcycle Dealers
5
Museums
2
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
5
Nail Salons
2
Natural Gas Distribution
3
New Car Dealers
19
New Housing Operative Builders
15
Newspaper Publishers
3
Nonresidential Property Managers
8
Nursing Care Facilities
15
Office Administrative Services
10
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
5
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
29
Offices of Chiropractors
19
Offices of Dentists
62
Offices of Lawyers
109
Offices of Optometrists
14
Offices of Podiatrists
4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
19
Optical Goods Stores
14
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
4
Outerwear Knitting Mills
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Packing and Crating
1
Paging
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
6
Paperboard Mills
1
Parking Lots and Garages
3
Passenger Car Rental
15
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
8
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
8
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
24
Photography Studios, Portrait
11
Political Organizations
1
Portfolio Management
1
Poultry Processing
1
Power-Driven Handtool Manufacturing
1
Prepress Services
1
Professional Employer Organizations
3
Professional Organizations
3
Quick Printing
2
Racetracks
3
Radio Networks
2
Radio Stations
9
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
3
Real Estate Investment Trusts
3
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
2
Remediation Services
3
Rendering and Meat Byproduct Processing
1
Repossession Services
2
Residential Property Managers
17
Residential Remodelers
31
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
6
Roofing Contractors
6
Sales Financing
2
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
3
Securities Brokerage
18
Security Guards and Patrol Services
9
Septic Tank and Related Services
3
Shoe Stores
26
Siding Contractors
3
Sign Manufacturing
5
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
15
Solid Waste Collection
4
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Special Needs Transportation
1
Sporting Goods Stores
10
Sports and Recreation Instruction
3
Sports Teams and Clubs
1
Support Activities for Forestry
2
Tax Preparation Services
26
Taxi Service
2
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
17
Testing Laboratories
4
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
3
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
5
Timber Tract Operations
1
Tire Dealers
28
Tire Manufacturing (except Retreading)
1
Tobacco Stores
8
Tour Operators
2
Travel Agencies
6
Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing
1
Truss Manufacturing
3
Used Car Dealers
33
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
22
Used Merchandise Stores
12
Vending Machine Operators
4
Veterinary Services
21
Video Tape and Disc Rental
25
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
3
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
9
Window Treatment Stores
3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
16
Women's Clothing Stores
32
Yarn Spinning Mills
1

Should You Franchise?

As you drive around Fayetteville, it becomes clear that purchasing a franchise is a common way to get started as an entrepreneur. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Multi-Unit Franchising. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Hamburger Mary's Bar & Grille and Kidstage. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Carpet Retail Franchises and Home Inspection Franchises.

Note on Fayetteville Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Fayetteville.

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.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.

On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Fayetteville, it's imperative that you check now that your company name has not already been claimed by another North Carolina business.

Forming a Company in Fayetteville, North Carolina

It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

When forming a company, you will choose from many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

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 North Carolina, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in North Carolina. As it turns out, you can incorporate wherever you want. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Why Incorporate in Delaware. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Fayetteville, North Carolina, our web page covering Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.

Marketing Your New Company

To rise above the crowd in Fayetteville and grow your business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Examples of Marketing Strategies discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Never Give Up

Most new Fayetteville businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Fayetteville 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 Fayetteville, North Carolina

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

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Starting a Business in Forest City

Browse All Business Startup Guides for North Carolina
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