South Carolina Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Seneca, South Carolina

Are you starting a business in Seneca, South Carolina? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Seneca.

What Business Are You Starting?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Evaluating Your Idea.

If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening an Audiovisual Production Services Business guide or our Opening a Glass Artists Business guide.

Don't forget that your new business will be in Seneca. If Seneca already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Only by spending some time analyzing Seneca demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Seneca, South Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
12280
5-9 Employees
4800
10-19 Employees
2496
20-49 Employees
1584
50-99 Employees
456
100-249 Employees
240
250-499 Employees
144
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
48
All Seneca Businesses
22048

As a new Seneca entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Seneca 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
Advertising Agencies
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
10
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Boat Dealers
3
Book Stores
2
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
9
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Commercial Photography
2
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Facilities Management Services
2
Computer Systems Design Services
5
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Convenience Stores
2
Credit Bureaus
1
Credit Card Issuing
1
Credit Unions
2
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
3
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drafting Services
3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Educational Support Services
2
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
16
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
4
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
3
Family Clothing Stores
3
Finish Carpentry Contractors
3
Floor Covering Stores
7
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
4
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
4
Framing Contractors
4
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
11
General Automotive Repair
8
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
3
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
2
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
6
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
3
Hydroelectric Power Generation
1
Industrial Building Construction
1
Interior Design Services
1
Internet Service Providers
1
Investment Advice
5
Janitorial Services
5
Jewelry Stores
4
Land Subdivision
4
Landscaping Services
14
Limousine Service
1
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
5
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
3
Marinas
2
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
5
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
3
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
2
New Car Dealers
5
New Housing Operative Builders
3
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nonwoven Fabric Mills
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
7
Offices of Chiropractors
5
Offices of Lawyers
15
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Optical Goods Stores
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
8
Photography Studios, Portrait
4
Political Organizations
1
Portfolio Management
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
3
Real Estate Credit
4
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
3
Sales Financing
1
Savings Institutions
3
Securities Brokerage
6
Siding Contractors
1
Sign Manufacturing
2
Site Preparation Contractors
8
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Software Publishers
2
Solid Waste Collection
1
Special Needs Transportation
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
5
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Telephone Answering Services
2
Temporary Help Services
3
Tire Dealers
1
Tour Operators
1
Used Car Dealers
5
Used Merchandise Stores
5
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
4
Women's Clothing Stores
1

What About Buying an Existing Seneca Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in South Carolina. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Seneca.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

Creating a business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan

To learn more about business plans, read Expert Advice on Business Plans. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in South Carolina.

Raising Money for Your Venture

Raising money to fund your new Seneca business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.

For Seneca entrepreneurs who need startup capital, browse our List of South Carolina Angel Investors and our List of South Carolina Venture Capital Firms.

Letting the World Know You Exist

To rise above the crowd in Seneca and build your business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Effective Direct Mail Campaigns discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Ramping Up Sales

Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Seneca business to do well.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Effective Sales Presentations is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

Never Give Up

Most new Seneca businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

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

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Seneca, South Carolina

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

More Startup Articles for South Carolina Cities

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Starting a Business in Spartanburg

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