North Carolina Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Monroe, North Carolina

Contemplating starting a business in Monroe, North Carolina? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Monroe.

Which Business to Choose?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Free Business Ideas.

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 an Event Decorating Services Business guide or our Opening a Roofing Contractors Commercial & Industrial Business guide.

Remember that your new business will be in Monroe. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Monroe. Only by spending some time analyzing Monroe demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Monroe, North Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
43260
5-9 Employees
15120
10-19 Employees
11160
20-49 Employees
7200
50-99 Employees
2475
100-249 Employees
1215
250-499 Employees
225
500-999 Employees
180
1000+ Employees
135
All Monroe Businesses
80970

As a new Monroe entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Monroe 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
Adhesive Manufacturing
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
2
Architectural Services
3
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
10
Baked Goods Stores
3
Barber Shops
2
Beauty Salons
10
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
3
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
2
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
2
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
2
Cafeterias
2
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Car Washes
5
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
4
Child Day Care Services
17
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Clothing Accessories Stores
2
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Gravure Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
4
Commercial Photography
1
Commercial Screen Printing
3
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
2
Consumer Lending
6
Convenience Stores
11
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
2
Couriers
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
6
Dental Laboratories
2
Digital Printing
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Direct Mail Advertising
2
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
3
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
9
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
25
Electronic Shopping
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
4
Environmental Consulting Services
4
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
6
Family Clothing Stores
7
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
4
Finish Carpentry Contractors
18
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
6
Floor Covering Stores
4
Flooring Contractors
2
Florists
4
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
12
Freight Transportation Arrangement
4
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
38
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
4
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
3
General Automotive Repair
25
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
3
Glass and Glazing Contractors
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Manufacturing
2
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
3
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
2
Home Centers
1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
2
Home Health Care Services
5
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
8
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Building Construction
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
27
Investigation Services
2
Investment Advice
3
Iron and Steel Forging
1
Iron and Steel Mills
1
Janitorial Services
11
Kidney Dialysis Centers
2
Land Subdivision
6
Landscaping Services
42
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
37
Limousine Service
1
Machine Shops
13
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
5
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
24
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
2
Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
3
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
3
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
9
New Housing Operative Builders
8
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
10
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
16
Offices of Lawyers
34
Offices of Optometrists
5
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Optical Goods Stores
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
2
Outerwear Knitting Mills
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
16
Passenger Car Rental
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
3
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
4
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
7
Photography Studios, Portrait
4
Portfolio Management
1
Poultry Processing
3
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Employer Organizations
2
Professional Organizations
1
Quick Printing
2
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
3
Real Estate Credit
7
Residential Remodelers
15
Retail Bakeries
1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
2
Roofing Contractors
9
Sales Financing
2
Securities Brokerage
4
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Shoe Stores
10
Siding Contractors
4
Site Preparation Contractors
17
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
3
Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing
1
Software Publishers
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Tax Preparation Services
8
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
7
Temporary Shelters
1
Textile Machinery Manufacturing
4
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
5
Tire Dealers
10
Tire Manufacturing (except Retreading)
1
Tobacco Stores
1
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
1
Travel Agencies
2
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
7
Video Tape and Disc Rental
5
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
10
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
2
Yarn Spinning Mills
1

Company Formation in Monroe, North Carolina

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The biggest advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. 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. Just because you are starting a business in North Carolina, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in North Carolina. In fact, 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. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Nevada Incorporation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Monroe, North Carolina, our web page covering Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Raising money to fund your new Monroe business is a difficult chore. 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 504 Loans.

For Monroe entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of North Carolina Angel Investors and our List of North Carolina Venture Capital Firms.

Getting the Word Out About Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract Monroe customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your beating the competition.

We have some great resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Television Advertising Rates is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Bring in Revenues

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Monroe or are selling to customers throughout North Carolina, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Selling Products on eBay is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Good business owners know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Monroe, North Carolina, you should investigate some of the learning programs at local North Carolina educational institutions. You should also check if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Monroe entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

What's Next?

You have a dream -- starting a business in Monroe. 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 Monroe and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Monroe, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Monroe, North Carolina

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

More Startup Articles for North Carolina Cities

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Starting a Business in Mooresville

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