Tennessee Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Pikeville, Tennessee
Thinking about starting a business in Pikeville, Tennessee? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Pikeville.
What Business Are You Starting?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.
For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Legal Photographers Business guide or our Starting a Lighting Maintenance Business guide.
Always keep in mind that your new business will be in Pikeville. Some businesses will do better in Pikeville than others. Study Pikeville demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Pikeville, Tennessee Demographic Information
Pikeville has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Pikeville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Pikeville.
Businesses
As a new Pikeville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Pikeville 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
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Pikeville Business?
We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Tennessee. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Pikeville.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Naming the Company
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.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are planning on starting a business in Pikeville, it's very important that you make sure no other Tennessee company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Pikeville, Tennessee
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporation 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. If you are starting a business in Tennessee, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Tennessee. 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 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 Incorporating Online. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Pikeville, Tennessee, our information on Incorporating in Tennessee may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Tennessee.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
Writing a business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.
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 Tennessee.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Pikeville. 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 Pikeville and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Pikeville 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 Pikeville, Tennessee
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Pikeville.
- Resources for Pikeville, Tennessee Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Pikeville entrepreneurs.
- Tennessee Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Tennessee.
- Tennessee Small Business Development Center - If you are a small business owner, entrepreneur or you are thinking about starting a new business, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) is ready to help you every step of the way!
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