Kentucky Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Franklin, Kentucky

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

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Finding Your Niche in Life.

To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening an Accounting Employment Agency guide or our Opening a Pottery Instruction Business guide.

Remember that you are starting a business in Franklin. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Franklin. Make sure you fully understand Franklin demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Franklin, Kentucky Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
12376
5-9 Employees
6318
10-19 Employees
4368
20-49 Employees
2808
50-99 Employees
1326
100-249 Employees
546
250-499 Employees
390
500-999 Employees
156
1000+ Employees
0
All Franklin Businesses
28288

As a new Franklin entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Franklin 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
Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Beauty Salons
1
Book Stores
1
Business Associations
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Cafeterias
1
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
4
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
3
Commercial Gravure Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
1
Copper Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding
1
Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters
1
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
4
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Florists
2
Framing Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
10
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Historical Sites
1
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Launderers
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
5
Jewelry Stores
1
Landscaping Services
2
Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
19
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers
1
Machine Shops
3
Masonry Contractors
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Museums
1
New Car Dealers
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Chiropractors
6
Offices of Dentists
7
Offices of Lawyers
8
Offices of Optometrists
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing
1
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Quick Printing
1
Racetracks
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Recreational Goods Rental
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Shoe Stores
1
Siding Contractors
2
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Temporary Help Services
3
Tire Dealers
3
Tobacco Stores
2
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
3
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Veterinary Services
2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2

Should You Buy an Existing Franklin Business?

We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Kentucky. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Franklin.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is vital 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. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim The Art of the Executive Summary. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Kentucky.

Startup Financing Basics

Raising money to fund your new Franklin business is not an easy task. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Borrowing Money from Friends and Family.

For Franklin entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Kentucky Angel Investors and our List of Kentucky Venture Capital Firms.

Building Up Your Sales

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Franklin or are selling to customers throughout Kentucky, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

The key to selling is to set sales goals goals and monitor your progress towards those goals. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Selling Stuff on the Web offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Franklin. 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 Franklin businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Franklin, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Franklin, Kentucky

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

  • Resources for Franklin, Kentucky Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Franklin entrepreneurs.
  • Kentucky Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Kentucky.
  • Kentucky Small Business Development Center - The Kentucky Small Business Development Center (KSBDC) has been assisting Kentucky small business community for more than 25 years. KSBDC is co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and is administered by the University of Kentucky in partnership with regional universities, community and private colleges, and the private sector.

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Kentucky

Starting a Business in Frankfort
Starting a Business in Fulton

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Kentucky
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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