South Carolina Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Marietta, South Carolina

Thinking about starting a business in Marietta, South Carolina? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Marietta.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new ventures fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:

  • Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Marietta. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • Take a look at The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
  • Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

What Type of Business Should You Start?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Finding Your Niche in Life.

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 Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Don't forget that starting a business in Marietta has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Marietta than others. Make sure you fully understand Marietta demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Marietta, South Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1370
5-9 Employees
570
10-19 Employees
330
20-49 Employees
60
50-99 Employees
60
100-249 Employees
60
250-499 Employees
30
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Marietta Businesses
2480

As a new Marietta entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Marietta 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
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
1
Car Washes
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Convenience Stores
2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Engineering Services
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Framing Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
2
Hardware Stores
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Janitorial Services
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
3
Machine Shops
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
1
Residential Remodelers
1
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Used Car Dealers
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2

Have You Considered Franchising?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Marietta and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Is it perhaps smarter to franchise a business instead of doing it from scratch.

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Evaluating Franchise Opportunities. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Subway Franchises and Starbucks Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Moving Franchises.

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

Getting the Word Out About Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract Marietta customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Marketing Basics 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

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

Given that you are starting a business in Marietta, South Carolina, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby South Carolina universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Marietta entrepreneurs.

Next Steps

Most new Marietta 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 Marietta 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 Marietta, South Carolina

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

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

Starting a Business in Manning
Starting a Business in Marion

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

 

 

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