North Carolina Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Greenville, North Carolina
Thinking about starting a business in Greenville, North Carolina? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Greenville.
Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?
Most startup businesses fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Greenville. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- Peruse Why Small Businesses Fail. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. 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.
What Business to Start
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read 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 Digital Printers Business guide or our How to Start a Fiberglass & Materials Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.
Remember that you are opening your new business in Greenville. Some businesses will do better in Greenville than others. Don't forget to review Greenville demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Greenville, North Carolina Demographic Information
Greenville has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Greenville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Greenville.
Businesses
As a new Greenville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Greenville 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.
Businesses
Have You Considered Franchising?
As you drive around Greenville, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. So, it probably makes sense for you to consider franchising too.
Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Staffing a Franchise. 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 Sterling Optical and Multi Menu. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Soccer Franchises and Bakery Franchises.
Note on Greenville Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Greenville.
Selecting a Name For Your Business
A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.
Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Greenville, it's imperative that you check now that no other North Carolina company is using the business name you want to use.
Company Formation in Greenville, North Carolina
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
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. Just because 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 in the state of your choosing. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Pre-Incorporation Agreements. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Greenville, North Carolina, our information on Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.
Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge
Successful entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Greenville, North Carolina, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local North Carolina educational institutions. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking organizations for Greenville entrepreneurs.
Now It's Up To You
Most new Greenville 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.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Greenville and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Greenville, North Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Greenville.
- Resources for Greenville, North Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Greenville entrepreneurs.
- North Carolina Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in North Carolina.
- North Carolina SBA - With offices in Charlotte, Wilmington, Raleigh and Asheville, the SBA organizes many events and provides useful resources for new entrepreneurs and growing businesses throughout North Carolina.
More Business Startup Guides for North Carolina
Starting a Business in Greensboro
Starting a Business in Grifton
Browse All Business Startup Guides for North Carolina
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs