South Carolina Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Marion, South Carolina
Contemplating starting a business in Marion, South Carolina? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Marion.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
Before you get too far along in the process, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Marion. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- 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. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Marion, South Carolina Demographic Information
Marion has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Marion demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Marion.
Businesses
As a new Marion entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Marion 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
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.
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 Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Marion, it's very important that you make sure no other South Carolina company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Marion, South Carolina
It's very important that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in South Carolina, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in South Carolina. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.
There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Corporate Formalities. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Marion, South Carolina, our information on Incorporating in South Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in South Carolina.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
Creating a business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in South Carolina.
Raising Funding for Your Venture
Getting your Marion business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Line of Credit.
For Marion entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of South Carolina Angel Investors and our List of South Carolina Venture Capital Firms.
Bring in Revenues
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Marion or are selling to customers throughout South Carolina, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
The Art of Customer Referrals is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
Moving Forward
You have a dream -- starting a business in Marion. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Marion 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 Marion, South Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Marion.
- Resources for Marion, South Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Marion entrepreneurs.
- South Carolina Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in South Carolina.
- South Carolina Small Business Development Center - The South Carolina Small Business Development Center provides consulting services to small and medium enterprises through more than 14 locations across the state.
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