Tennessee Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Savannah, Tennessee

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

Savannah, Tennessee Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2420
5-9 Employees
1020
10-19 Employees
564
20-49 Employees
420
50-99 Employees
108
100-249 Employees
60
250-499 Employees
24
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Savannah Businesses
4616

As a new Savannah entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Savannah 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
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Beauty Salons
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
1
Child Day Care Services
3
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
2
Credit Unions
1
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
2
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Framing Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
14
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
2
General Automotive Repair
2
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Hardware Stores
2
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Industrial Launderers
1
Institutional Furniture Manufacturing
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
4
Janitorial Services
1
Jewelry Stores
2
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
15
Logging
3
Machine Shops
2
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
3
Offices of Lawyers
13
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing
1
Political Organizations
1
Quick Printing
1
Radio Stations
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Residential Remodelers
1
Sawmills
4
Securities Brokerage
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Shoe Stores
3
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Sporting Goods Stores
3
Support Activities for Forestry
1
Tax Preparation Services
3
Television Broadcasting
1
Tire Dealers
1
Tobacco Stores
2
Used Car Dealers
3
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
2
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

Is Franchising a Better Option?

As you drive around Savannah, you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as How to Franchise a Business. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

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

Sample franchise opportunities include Stuft Pizza and Comfort Suites. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Franchises that Serve Liquor and Hair Styling Franchises.

Note on Savannah Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Savannah.

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.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Savannah, it's critical that you ensure that no other Tennessee company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Savannah, Tennessee

A critical step is ensuring that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will protect you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Tennessee, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Tennessee. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. 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. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Incorporation Advice. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Savannah, Tennessee, our information on Incorporating in Tennessee may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Tennessee.

Marketing Your New Startup

To grow your Savannah business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your beating the competition.

We have some excellent resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Examples of Marketing Strategies is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

With your business being located in Savannah, Tennessee, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Tennessee universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Savannah networking organizations.

Moving Forward

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Savannah 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 Savannah, Tennessee

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Tennessee

Starting a Business in Rutledge
Starting a Business in Selmer

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Tennessee
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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