North Carolina Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Mount Airy, North Carolina

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

Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?

Running your own business is demanding, and can be orders of magnitude more strenuous than working as an employee. Are you positive you want to start a business?

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Mount Airy. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

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 Free 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 How to Start a Closed Circuit Television Equipment & Security Systems Business guide or our Starting a Foreign Marketing Consultants & Promoters Business guide.

Remember that you are starting a business in Mount Airy. Some businesses will do better in Mount Airy than others. Make sure you fully understand Mount Airy demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Mount Airy, North Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
4530
5-9 Employees
1797
10-19 Employees
1071
20-49 Employees
1089
50-99 Employees
279
100-249 Employees
180
250-499 Employees
54
500-999 Employees
18
1000+ Employees
9
All Mount Airy Businesses
9027

As a new Mount Airy entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Mount Airy 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
Architectural Services
2
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
9
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
5
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Book Stores
2
Bowling Centers
1
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
1
Business Associations
1
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Cafeterias
3
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
3
Child Day Care Services
10
Civic and Social Organizations
3
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Computer and Software Stores
2
Consumer Lending
5
Convenience Stores
4
Credit Unions
1
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Digital Printing
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Display Advertising
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
4
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
13
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
4
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Florists
4
Food Service Contractors
2
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Framing Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
37
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
5
General Freight Trucking, Local
8
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
7
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
4
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Heating Oil Dealers
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Centers
2
Home Health Care Services
4
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
13
Internet Service Providers
2
Janitorial Services
8
Jewelry Stores
3
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
4
Limousine Service
2
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers
2
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Logging
2
Machine Shops
7
Mail-Order Houses
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
6
Masonry Contractors
6
Materials Recovery Facilities
1
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
6
Motion Picture and Video Production
2
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Museums
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
2
New Car Dealers
7
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
7
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
11
Offices of Lawyers
17
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
Optical Goods Stores
3
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
3
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
4
Periodical Publishers
2
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
9
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing
1
Professional Organizations
1
Public Relations Agencies
1
Radio Stations
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Investment Trusts
1
Residential Property Managers
8
Residential Remodelers
6
Roofing Contractors
8
Rope, Cordage, and Twine Mills
1
Saw Blade and Handsaw Manufacturing
1
Sawmills
2
Septic Tank and Related Services
2
Shoe Stores
6
Sign Manufacturing
4
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
4
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
3
Tax Preparation Services
3
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Temporary Help Services
3
Tire Dealers
3
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tobacco Stores
1
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
9
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Veterinary Services
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Weft Knit Fabric Mills
1
Wineries
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
7
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2

What About Franchising Opportunities?

Examine a list of Mount Airy businesses and you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our advice is to look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Selling A Franchise. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Showhomes of America and Aging Excellence. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Dating Service Franchises and Mail and Shipping Services Franchises.

Note on Mount Airy Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Mount Airy, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

Creating a business plan is critical to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Reasons to Write a Business Plan. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in North Carolina.

Building Up Your Sales

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

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.

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

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

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

As an entrepreneur who lives in Mount Airy, North Carolina, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby North Carolina universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Mount Airy networking organizations.

Now It's Up To You

As an entrepreneur in Mount Airy, 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.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Mount Airy and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Mount Airy, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Mount Airy, North Carolina

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

More Business Startup Guides for North Carolina

Starting a Business in Morganton
Starting a Business in Mount Olive

Browse All Business Startup Guides for North Carolina
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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

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