Alabama Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Jasper, Alabama

Contemplating starting a business in Jasper, Alabama? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Jasper.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new companies fail, 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.

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

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Jasper. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Jasper, Alabama Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
13365
5-9 Employees
6264
10-19 Employees
3645
20-49 Employees
2079
50-99 Employees
756
100-249 Employees
270
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
81
1000+ Employees
0
All Jasper Businesses
26460

As a new Jasper entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Jasper 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
Ambulance Services
3
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
9
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
8
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Bituminous Coal Underground Mining
1
Book Stores
2
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
2
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
3
Civic and Social Organizations
5
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Consumer Lending
8
Convenience Stores
4
Credit Unions
2
Custom Computer Programming Services
3
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
5
Document Preparation Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4
Electric Power Distribution
3
Electrical Contractors
2
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
7
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
4
Family Planning Centers
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
4
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
6
Floor Covering Stores
5
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
6
Food Service Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
29
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
8
General Automotive Repair
8
General Freight Trucking, Local
5
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
5
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Grantmaking Foundations
2
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Hardware Stores
3
Home Centers
2
Home Health Care Services
6
Homes for the Elderly
4
Household Appliance Stores
1
Hydroelectric Power Generation
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
16
Internet Service Providers
1
Jewelry Stores
4
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
10
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
4
Limited-Service Restaurants
34
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
4
Marinas
2
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
3
Mattress Manufacturing
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
12
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
4
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
7
Offices of Chiropractors
6
Offices of Dentists
18
Offices of Optometrists
5
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
5
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
14
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Poultry Processing
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
3
Real Estate Credit
4
Remediation Services
2
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
3
Roofing Contractors
2
Savings Institutions
1
Sawmills
2
Securities Brokerage
3
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Shoe Stores
4
Siding Contractors
1
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
8
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Sporting Goods Stores
5
Support Activities for Forestry
5
Tax Preparation Services
8
Telephone Answering Services
1
Television Broadcasting
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Retreading
1
Tobacco Stores
2
Translation and Interpretation Services
1
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
10
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
9

Naming the Business

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.

Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Jasper, it's imperative that you check now that no other Alabama company is using the business name you want to use.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Alabama.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your Jasper business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Choosing VC Firms.

For Jasper entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Alabama Angel Investors and our List of Alabama Venture Capital Firms.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

The best business owners recognize that they need to continually improve.

With your business being located in Jasper, Alabama, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Alabama universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Jasper entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

Most new Jasper 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 Jasper 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 Jasper, Alabama

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

  • Resources for Jasper, Alabama Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Jasper entrepreneurs.
  • Alabama Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Alabama.
  • Alabama Small Business Development Center - Alabama's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counsels and trains business people in a wide variety of business topics and provides comprehensive information services and access to experts in many fields. Counseling is provided free of charge to all Alabama small business owners.

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