Arkansas Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Searcy, Arkansas

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Being an entrepreneur is hard work, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you sure you are ready to take on this challenge?

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Searcy. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Searcy, Arkansas Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1398
5-9 Employees
681
10-19 Employees
357
20-49 Employees
258
50-99 Employees
78
100-249 Employees
39
250-499 Employees
18
500-999 Employees
12
1000+ Employees
6
All Searcy Businesses
2847

As a new Searcy entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Searcy 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
Ambulance Services
2
Amusement Arcades
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
8
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
9
Boat Dealers
2
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
3
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
1
Caterers
2
Child Day Care Services
10
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
2
Civic and Social Organizations
4
Collection Agencies
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
1
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Convenience Stores
2
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
3
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Unions
2
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Custom Roll Forming
1
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Electric Power Distribution
3
Electrical Contractors
9
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
4
Family Planning Centers
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
5
Floor Covering Stores
2
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
5
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
3
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Framing Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
2
Full-Service Restaurants
22
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
8
General Automotive Repair
12
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Graphic Design Services
2
Hardware Stores
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Launderers
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
31
Investigation Services
1
Iron and Steel Mills
1
Janitorial Services
3
Jewelry Stores
4
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
3
Landscaping Services
8
Limited-Service Restaurants
28
Luggage Manufacturing
1
Machine Shops
1
Mail-Order Houses
2
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
4
Media Buying Agencies
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
2
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
2
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
5
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
8
Offices of Dentists
17
Offices of Lawyers
13
Offices of Optometrists
8
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Passenger Car Rental
1
Periodical Publishers
2
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
4
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
1
Plastics Bag Manufacturing
1
Portfolio Management
1
Poultry Processing
1
Prepress Services
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
3
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Remediation Services
1
Repossession Services
1
Residential Property Managers
3
Residential Remodelers
3
Sawmills
1
Securities Brokerage
5
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
5
Siding Contractors
1
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Collection
1
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Special Needs Transportation
1
Sporting Goods Stores
7
Tax Preparation Services
1
Taxi Service
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
3
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
7
Tobacco Stores
3
Tradebinding and Related Work
1
Truck Trailer Manufacturing
1
Truss Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
14
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
3
Used Merchandise Stores
4
Veterinary Services
5
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
6
Women's Clothing Stores
6
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

As you drive around Searcy, you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. Would going with a franchise be a good idea for you?

Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Understanding Franchise Contracts. 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 Cinnabon and Pizza Inn, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Employment and Staffing Franchises and Auto Repair Franchises.

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

Company Formation in Searcy, Arkansas

It's very important 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. Just because you are starting a business in Arkansas, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Arkansas. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Searcy, Arkansas, our information on Incorporating in Arkansas may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Arkansas.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Getting your Searcy business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Line of Credit.

For Searcy entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, we have assembled a List of Arkansas Angel Investors and our List of Arkansas Venture Capital Firms.

Letting the World Know You Exist

To rise above the crowd in Searcy and grow your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Local Search 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.

Next Steps

As an entrepreneur in Searcy, 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.

We are here to help Searcy businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Searcy, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Searcy, Arkansas

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

More Startup Articles for Arkansas Cities

Starting a Business in Salem
Starting a Business in Sheridan

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

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary