South Carolina Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Summerville, South Carolina
Contemplating starting a business in Summerville, South Carolina? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Summerville.
What Business to Start
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 Good Business Ideas.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening an Auto Appearance & Protection Business guide or our Starting a Pillow Renovating Business guide.
Remember that you are starting a business in Summerville. Some businesses will do better in Summerville than others. Don't forget to review Summerville demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Summerville, South Carolina Demographic Information
Summerville has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Summerville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Summerville.
Businesses
As a new Summerville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Summerville 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
Should You Franchise?
Visit the business district of Summerville and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. But is franchising the right option for you?
Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising and Veterans. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Representative franchise opportunities include PC Kidz and Sunbrook Academy. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Child Education and Tutoring Franchises and Payday Loan Franchises.
Note on Summerville Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Summerville, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
The Role of the Business Plan
Having a business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Software. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in South Carolina.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Obtaining startup financing for your Summerville business is a difficult chore. 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 Summerville entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, you'll want to take a look at our List of South Carolina Angel Investors and our List of South Carolina Venture Capital Firms.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Company
Whether your goal is to attract Summerville customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a great marketing plan.
We have some useful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Exhibiting at Tradeshows is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Now It's Up To You
As an entrepreneur in Summerville, 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.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Summerville and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Summerville, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Summerville, South Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Summerville.
- Resources for Summerville, South Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Summerville entrepreneurs.
- South Carolina Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in South Carolina.
- South Carolina Small Business Development Center - The South Carolina Small Business Development Center provides consulting services to small and medium enterprises through more than 14 locations across the state.
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