Tennessee Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Franklin, Tennessee

Need help starting a business in Franklin, Tennessee? We've got the information you need to open a business in Franklin.

Do You Have What It Takes?

Most new companies do not succeed, in part because the founder did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Franklin. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. 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.

Franklin, Tennessee 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
114400
5-9 Employees
38610
10-19 Employees
29250
20-49 Employees
22074
50-99 Employees
6786
100-249 Employees
4056
250-499 Employees
858
500-999 Employees
390
1000+ Employees
156
All Franklin Businesses
216580

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
Advertising Agencies
8
Ambulance Services
1
Architectural Services
9
Art Dealers
2
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Baked Goods Stores
1
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
37
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Boat Dealers
1
Book Publishers
3
Book Stores
6
Bowling Centers
1
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
2
Building Inspection Services
2
Business Associations
5
Cafeterias
3
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
2
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Car Washes
5
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
4
Caterers
3
Cemeteries and Crematories
2
Child Day Care Services
21
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
11
Civic and Social Organizations
6
Claims Adjusting
4
Clothing Accessories Stores
7
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Collection Agencies
3
Commercial Flexographic Printing
1
Commercial Gravure Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
4
Commercial Photography
2
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
1
Commodity Contracts Dealing
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer Systems Design Services
24
Computer Training
1
Concrete Pipe Manufacturing
1
Confectionery and Nut Stores
4
Consumer Lending
7
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
3
Copper Wire (except Mechanical) Drawing
1
Couriers
1
Credit Unions
1
Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
20
Dental Laboratories
2
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Digital Printing
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
7
Direct Mail Advertising
3
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
5
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Discount Department Stores
4
Display Advertising
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
3
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
5
Educational Support Services
3
Electric Power Distribution
3
Electrical Contractors
15
Electronic Auctions
1
Electronic Connector Manufacturing
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
7
Emergency and Other Relief Services
2
Employment Placement Agencies
3
Engineering Services
29
Environmental Consulting Services
8
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
3
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
4
Family Clothing Stores
15
Fine Arts Schools
3
Finish Carpentry Contractors
9
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
13
Floor Covering Stores
5
Flooring Contractors
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
6
Food Service Contractors
5
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
3
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
2
Framing Contractors
6
Freight Transportation Arrangement
4
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
15
General Automotive Repair
13
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Warehousing and Storage
3
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
5
Grantmaking Foundations
5
Graphic Design Services
14
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
3
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
7
Home Health Care Services
2
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
8
Household Appliance Stores
6
Human Rights Organizations
1
Industrial Building Construction
1
Industrial Design Services
2
Interior Design Services
8
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
2
Internet Service Providers
1
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
17
Janitorial Services
13
Jewelry Stores
17
Land Subdivision
15
Landscape Architectural Services
5
Landscaping Services
53
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
80
Limousine Service
1
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers
1
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Machine Shops
2
Mail-Order Houses
5
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Marketing Consulting Services
9
Masonry Contractors
6
Materials Recovery Facilities
1
Media Representatives
1
Medical Laboratories
2
Men's Clothing Stores
3
Miscellaneous Intermediation
2
Mobile Food Services
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
8
Motion Picture and Video Production
9
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Museums
1
Music Publishers
14
Musical Groups and Artists
29
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
5
Nail Salons
3
Natural Gas Distribution
2
New Housing Operative Builders
13
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
3
Nursing Care Facilities
6
Office Administrative Services
17
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
3
Office Machinery Manufacturing
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
16
Offices of Chiropractors
12
Offices of Dentists
42
Offices of Lawyers
38
Offices of Optometrists
7
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
4
One-Hour Photofinishing
3
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
1
Optical Goods Stores
7
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
2
Paint and Coating Manufacturing
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
9
Parking Lots and Garages
1
Passenger Car Rental
6
Payroll Services
2
Periodical Publishers
4
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
4
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
3
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
15
Photography Studios, Portrait
12
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing
3
Political Organizations
3
Portfolio Management
3
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Private Mail Centers
6
Professional Organizations
7
Public Relations Agencies
5
Quick Printing
2
Radio Networks
1
Radio Stations
4
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
17
Record Production
4
Recreational Goods Rental
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
12
Residential Remodelers
19
Retail Bakeries
2
Roofing Contractors
4
Sales Financing
8
Satellite Telecommunications
1
Savings Institutions
2
Sawmills
1
Securities Brokerage
11
Shoe Stores
15
Site Preparation Contractors
10
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
17
Software Publishers
5
Solid Waste Collection
8
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Sound Recording Studios
13
Spice and Extract Manufacturing
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
7
Tax Preparation Services
6
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
9
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tire Dealers
5
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
7
Tour Operators
1
Travel Agencies
5
Used Car Dealers
5
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
3
Used Merchandise Stores
16
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
9
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
3
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
2
Web Search Portals
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
38
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
29
Wood Preservation
1

Naming the Company

A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.

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.

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

On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Franklin, it's imperative that you check now that no other Tennessee company is using the business name you want to use.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. In effect, 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.

If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Tennessee.

Marketing Your New Venture

Whether your goal is to attract Franklin customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.

You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Advertising on Google 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 taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Successful entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Franklin, Tennessee, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Tennessee universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Franklin entrepreneurs.

Now It's Up To You

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

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

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Franklin and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Franklin 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 Franklin, Tennessee

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Tennessee

Starting a Business in Fayetteville
Starting a Business in Gainesboro

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

 

 

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