North Carolina Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Shelby, North Carolina

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

Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?

Most new ventures fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Shelby. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
  • 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. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

Shelby, North Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
15944
5-9 Employees
7560
10-19 Employees
3792
20-49 Employees
3048
50-99 Employees
1008
100-249 Employees
504
250-499 Employees
96
500-999 Employees
72
1000+ Employees
24
All Shelby Businesses
32048

As a new Shelby entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Shelby 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
Ambulance Services
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
2
Architectural Services
6
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
2
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Baked Goods Stores
2
Beauty Salons
6
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Boat Dealers
2
Book Stores
2
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
2
Business Associations
2
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cafeterias
1
Car Washes
3
Carpet and Rug Mills
3
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Child Day Care Services
30
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
4
Clothing Accessories Stores
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
4
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
7
Computer and Software Stores
4
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Consumer Lending
7
Convenience Stores
6
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
1
Credit Unions
3
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Dental Laboratories
7
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
2
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Display Advertising
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
5
Educational Support Services
1
Electrical Contractors
9
Electronic Capacitor Manufacturing
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
2
Environmental Consulting Services
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
4
Family Clothing Stores
3
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
4
Florists
6
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
3
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing
1
Food Service Contractors
6
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Framing Contractors
5
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
44
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
6
Furniture Stores
9
General Automotive Repair
14
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
3
Glass and Glazing Contractors
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
5
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
3
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
2
Home Health Care Services
12
Homes for the Elderly
5
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Design Services
1
Industrial Launderers
1
Institutional Furniture Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
21
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
4
Janitorial Services
6
Jewelry Stores
3
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
16
Libraries and Archives
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
37
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Locksmiths
1
Logging
1
Machine Shops
3
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
6
Masonry Contractors
6
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
3
Musical Groups and Artists
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
2
New Car Dealers
9
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
4
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
12
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Dentists
17
Offices of Lawyers
17
Offices of Optometrists
3
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
3
Optical Goods Stores
2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
2
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
4
Passenger Car Leasing
1
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
5
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
3
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
9
Photography Studios, Portrait
6
Private Mail Centers
1
Quick Printing
2
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
5
Remediation Services
2
Residential Property Managers
3
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
3
Roofing Contractors
7
Sales Financing
1
Satellite Telecommunications
1
Savings Institutions
2
Sawmills
1
Securities Brokerage
4
Shoe Stores
6
Siding Contractors
1
Sign Manufacturing
2
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Solid Waste Collection
2
Special Needs Transportation
2
Sports and Recreation Instruction
2
Tax Preparation Services
5
Television Broadcasting
1
Temporary Help Services
6
Temporary Shelters
1
Textile Machinery Manufacturing
2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
3
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
15
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
4
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Weft Knit Fabric Mills
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
6
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
6

What About Buying an Existing Shelby Business?

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

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Buying a Business.

Selecting a Name For Your Venture

A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.

Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Shelby, it's imperative that you check now that no other North Carolina company is using the business name you want to use.

Raising Funding for Your Venture

Getting your Shelby business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.

Recognizing this challenge, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Getting a Small Business Loan.

For Shelby entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of North Carolina Angel Investors and our List of North Carolina Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

Whether your goal is to attract Shelby customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a excellent marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Telemarketing Service Costs discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Building Up Your Sales

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

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Hiring Telemarketing Firms to Generate Sales Leads offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Moving Forward

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Shelby and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Shelby 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 Shelby, North Carolina

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

More Startup Articles for North Carolina Cities

Starting a Business in Shallotte
Starting a Business in Siler City

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

 

 

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