South Carolina Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Goose Creek, South Carolina

Are you starting a business in Goose Creek, South Carolina? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Goose Creek.

Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?

Being an entrepreneur is difficult, much more arduous than working as an employee. Are you sure you are ready to take on this challenge?

Before you move forward with starting a business, be sure to do these three things:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Goose Creek. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
  • We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.

What Type of Business Should You Start?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. 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 Opening an Index Tabs Business guide or our Starting a Lasik Surgeons Business guide.

Don't forget that your new startup will be located in Goose Creek. Some businesses will do better in Goose Creek than others. Make sure you fully understand Goose Creek demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Goose Creek, South Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2020
5-9 Employees
696
10-19 Employees
576
20-49 Employees
306
50-99 Employees
96
100-249 Employees
42
250-499 Employees
36
500-999 Employees
12
1000+ Employees
0
All Goose Creek Businesses
3784

As a new Goose Creek entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Goose Creek 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
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
4
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
5
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Baked Goods Stores
2
Beauty Salons
10
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
1
Caterers
1
Child Day Care Services
5
Civic and Social Organizations
5
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
3
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
5
Consumer Lending
2
Convenience Stores
1
Credit Unions
4
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Drafting Services
2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
9
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
8
Environmental Consulting Services
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
5
Facilities Support Services
2
Fine Arts Schools
3
Finish Carpentry Contractors
5
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
6
Framing Contractors
4
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
23
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
2
General Automotive Repair
5
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
4
Investigation Services
2
Janitorial Services
10
Jewelry Stores
2
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
6
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
42
Machine Shops
1
Marketing Consulting Services
2
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Nail Salons
3
Newspaper Publishers
1
Office Administrative Services
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
2
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
11
Offices of Lawyers
3
Offices of Optometrists
1
Optical Goods Stores
2
Packing and Crating
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
3
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
4
Passenger Car Rental
2
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
5
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Primary Aluminum Production
1
Private Mail Centers
2
Quick Printing
1
Real Estate Credit
4
Remediation Services
2
Residential Remodelers
9
Roofing Contractors
2
Savings Institutions
2
Securities Brokerage
4
Shoe Stores
2
Siding Contractors
2
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
5
Temporary Help Services
3
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire Dealers
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
6
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
4
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Have You Considered Franchising?

As you drive around Goose Creek, you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. But is franchising the right option for you?

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Evaluating Franchise Opportunities. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Port City Java and Michel's Baguette Bakery Café. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Home Repair Franchises and Miscellaneous Franchises.

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

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Goose Creek Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in South Carolina. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Goose Creek.

If you are intent on buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Raising money to fund your new Goose Creek business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising money, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.

For Goose Creek entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, we have assembled a List of South Carolina Angel Investors and our List of South Carolina Venture Capital Firms.

Getting the Word Out About Your New Business

To rise above the crowd in Goose Creek and build your business, you need a great marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Avoiding Bad Product Launches is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Never Give Up

As an entrepreneur in Goose Creek, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

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 Goose Creek and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Goose Creek, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Goose Creek, South Carolina

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in South Carolina

Starting a Business in Georgetown
Starting a Business in Greenville

Browse All Business Startup Guides for South Carolina
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

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