Virginia Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Tappahannock, Virginia

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

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. We recommend that you read Free Business Ideas.

To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Moroccan Restaurant guide or our Starting a Sign Engravers Business guide.

Always keep in mind that your new business will be in Tappahannock. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Tappahannock. Make sure you fully understand Tappahannock demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Tappahannock, Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
443
5-9 Employees
198
10-19 Employees
99
20-49 Employees
51
50-99 Employees
30
100-249 Employees
6
250-499 Employees
9
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Tappahannock Businesses
836

As a new Tappahannock entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Tappahannock 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 Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
5
Beauty Salons
5
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Book Stores
1
Car Washes
2
Child Day Care Services
8
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Claims Adjusting
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Convenience Stores
2
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Electrical Contractors
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Engineering Services
2
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage
1
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
2
Food Service Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
12
Furniture Stores
2
General Automotive Repair
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
1
Janitorial Services
2
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Landscaping Services
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
11
Machine Shops
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
3
Marinas
3
Masonry Contractors
2
Medical Laboratories
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
New Car Dealers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
3
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
6
Offices of Lawyers
8
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Recreational Goods Rental
1
Sawmills
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Special Needs Transportation
1
Support Activities for Forestry
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Tire Dealers
2
Used Merchandise Stores
4
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Women's Clothing Stores
2
Wood Preservation
1

Forming a Company in Tappahannock, Virginia

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporation 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 Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Virginia. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate in any state you would like to. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Subchapter S Corporations. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Tappahannock, Virginia, our information on Incorporating in Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Virginia.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Contests. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Virginia.

Raising Funding for Your Venture

Getting your Tappahannock business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. 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 SBIR Funding.

For Tappahannock entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, you'll want to take a look at our List of Virginia Angel Investors and our List of Virginia Venture Capital Firms.

Letting the World Know You Exist

To grow your Tappahannock business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. How to Get Started with Advertsing is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

How to Sell

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Tappahannock or are selling to customers throughout Virginia, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Anticipating Prospect Responses 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.

Moving Forward

You have a dream -- starting a business in Tappahannock. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Tappahannock and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Tappahannock, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Tappahannock, Virginia

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

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