South Carolina Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in North Charleston, South Carolina

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

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading 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 How to Start a Jewelry Brokers & Buyers Business guide or our How to Start a Historical Organizations Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in North Charleston. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in North Charleston. A critical consideration is whether North Charleston demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

North Charleston, South Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2790
5-9 Employees
1317
10-19 Employees
1121
20-49 Employees
909
50-99 Employees
234
100-249 Employees
159
250-499 Employees
42
500-999 Employees
9
1000+ Employees
3
All North Charleston Businesses
6584

As a new North Charleston entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in North Charleston 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
Air and Gas Compressor Manufacturing
1
Ambulance Services
1
Amusement Arcades
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
4
Apprenticeship Training
2
Armored Car Services
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
8
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
17
Automotive Transmission Repair
5
Baked Goods Stores
2
Ball and Roller Bearing Manufacturing
1
Beauty Salons
13
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Boat Building
5
Boat Dealers
3
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
4
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
1
Business Associations
3
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
2
Canvas and Related Product Mills
3
Car Washes
4
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
4
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Charter Bus Industry
2
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
29
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
10
Claims Adjusting
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
3
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Commercial Photography
1
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Community Food Services
2
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Systems Design Services
22
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
2
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
2
Consumer Lending
11
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
2
Convenience Stores
6
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
2
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Unions
7
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Deep Sea Freight Transportation
2
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Digital Printing
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
3
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Display Advertising
4
Document Preparation Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
21
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
10
Educational Support Services
4
Electric Power Distribution
8
Electrical Contractors
42
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
7
Employment Placement Agencies
2
Engineering Services
19
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
10
Fabric Coating Mills
1
Family Clothing Stores
5
Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing
1
Fish and Seafood Markets
2
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
4
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
3
Florists
5
Fluid Milk Manufacturing
1
Food Service Contractors
6
Framing Contractors
5
Freight Transportation Arrangement
17
Full-Service Restaurants
40
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
7
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
3
Furniture Stores
7
General Freight Trucking, Local
14
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
5
General Warehousing and Storage
12
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
3
Glass and Glazing Contractors
4
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
2
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Hardware Stores
5
Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Historical Sites
1
HMO Medical Centers
1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
6
Home Health Care Services
3
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
9
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Building Construction
1
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
1
Inland Water Freight Transportation
1
Inorganic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
19
Interior Design Services
1
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
1
Internet Service Providers
1
Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
1
Jewelry Stores
3
Junior Colleges
1
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
4
Landscaping Services
18
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
3
Limited-Service Restaurants
55
Linen Supply
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
3
Locksmiths
4
Machine Shops
5
Mail-Order Houses
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Marinas
1
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Masonry Contractors
8
Meat Markets
3
Media Representatives
1
Medical Laboratories
3
Men's Clothing Stores
3
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
2
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
8
Motorcycle Dealers
6
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
2
Natural Gas Distribution
1
Navigational Services to Shipping
1
New Housing Operative Builders
2
News Dealers and Newsstands
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Office Administrative Services
9
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
10
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
5
Offices of Chiropractors
8
Offices of Dentists
21
Offices of Lawyers
45
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Other Holding Companies
6
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing
1
Packing and Crating
2
Paging
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
14
Parking Lots and Garages
2
Passenger Car Rental
15
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
4
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
10
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Port and Harbor Operations
1
Portfolio Management
1
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Professional Organizations
2
Quick Printing
4
Racetracks
1
Radio Networks
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
3
Real Estate Investment Trusts
2
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Remediation Services
2
Repossession Services
1
Residential Property Managers
6
Residential Remodelers
10
Retail Bakeries
1
Roofing Contractors
11
Sales Financing
2
Savings Institutions
4
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
3
Secondary Market Financing
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
4
Septic Tank and Related Services
2
Ship Building and Repairing
2
Shoe Stores
1
Siding Contractors
2
Sign Manufacturing
3
Site Preparation Contractors
6
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
3
Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing
1
Solid Waste Collection
4
Sporting Goods Stores
5
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Steel Wire Drawing
1
Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing
1
Tax Preparation Services
7
Taxi Service
4
Telemarketing Bureaus
2
Television Broadcasting
2
Temporary Help Services
19
Temporary Shelters
2
Testing Laboratories
5
Textile Bag Mills
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
7
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
3
Tire Cord and Tire Fabric Mills
1
Tire Dealers
13
Tire Manufacturing (except Retreading)
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Translation and Interpretation Services
1
Travel Agencies
3
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
10
Used Merchandise Stores
4
Vending Machine Operators
4
Veterinary Services
7
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
3
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
9
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
14
Women's Clothing Stores
7
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2
Wood Preservation
1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
2

Is Buying an Existing North Charleston Business a Good Strategy?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in South Carolina. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in North Charleston.

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

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your North Charleston business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled 504 Loans.

For North Charleston entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, you'll want to take a look at our List of South Carolina Angel Investors and our List of South Carolina Venture Capital Firms.

Promoting Your New Business

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

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Advertising in the Yellow Pages is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

The best business owners recognize that they need to continually improve.

With your business being located in North Charleston, 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 beneficial to see if there are any networking organizations for North Charleston entrepreneurs.

What's Next?

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in North Charleston and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new North Charleston 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 North Charleston, South Carolina

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

More Business Startup Guides for South Carolina

Starting a Business in North Augusta
Starting a Business in North Myrtle Beach

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

 

 

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