West Virginia Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Keyser, West Virginia

Need help starting a business in Keyser, West Virginia? We've got the information you need to open a business in Keyser.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Good Business Ideas.

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 a Funeral Motor & Escort Services Business guide or our Starting a Hawaiian Foods Business guide.

Don't forget that your new startup will be located in Keyser. Some businesses will do better in Keyser than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Keyser demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Keyser, West Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
462
5-9 Employees
246
10-19 Employees
126
20-49 Employees
45
50-99 Employees
18
100-249 Employees
21
250-499 Employees
3
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
0
All Keyser Businesses
924

As a new Keyser entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Keyser 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
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
7
Book Stores
2
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
1
Cafeterias
1
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
5
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Computer Facilities Management Services
1
Credit Unions
2
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
5
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
4
Electronic Shopping
1
Engineering Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Floor Covering Stores
1
Florists
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
10
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
General Automotive Repair
3
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Hardware Stores
1
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
2
Household Appliance Stores
1
Janitorial Services
4
Jewelry Stores
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
5
Libraries and Archives
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
11
Logging
1
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
3
Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
3
Newspaper Publishers
1
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
4
Offices of Lawyers
14
Offices of Optometrists
3
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Plastics Bag Manufacturing
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
1
Sawmills
5
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Taxi Service
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Keyser Business?

We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in West Virginia. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Keyser.

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Naming the Business

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

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.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Keyser, it's critical that you ensure that no other West Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.

Raising Funding for Your Business

Getting your Keyser business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Microlending as a Small Business Funding Source.

For Keyser entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of West Virginia Angel Investors and our List of West Virginia Venture Capital Firms.

The Art of Selling

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Keyser business, you need to focus on sales.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Why Salespeople Fail offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Keyser, West Virginia, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby West Virginia universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Keyser entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

What's Next?

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

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

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

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

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