Alabama Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Vernon, Alabama

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

Vernon, Alabama Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1710
5-9 Employees
510
10-19 Employees
450
20-49 Employees
360
50-99 Employees
150
100-249 Employees
60
250-499 Employees
30
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Vernon Businesses
3270

As a new Vernon entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Vernon 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
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Consumer Lending
1
Electrical Contractors
1
Engineering Services
2
Florists
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Hardware Stores
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Institutional Furniture Manufacturing
1
Jewelry Stores
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
6
Logging
4
Machine Shops
1
Marketing Consulting Services
1
New Car Dealers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
1
Offices of Lawyers
3
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Used Car Dealers
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2

Is Buying an Existing Vernon Business a Good Strategy?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Alabama. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Vernon.

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

Forming a Company in Vernon, Alabama

It's essential that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. 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. If you are starting a business in Alabama, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Alabama. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as C Corp Versus S Corp. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Vernon, Alabama, our information on Incorporating in Alabama may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Alabama.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. Indeed, 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.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Alabama.

Startup Financing Basics

Getting your Vernon business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

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

For Vernon entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Alabama Angel Investors and our List of Alabama Venture Capital Firms.

Building Up Your Sales

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Vernon business, you need to focus on sales.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Sales Forecasting 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.

What's Next?

As an entrepreneur in Vernon, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

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

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Vernon and elsewhere to achieve real success. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Vernon, Alabama

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

  • Resources for Vernon, Alabama Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Vernon entrepreneurs.
  • Alabama Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Alabama.
  • Alabama Small Business Development Center - Alabama's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counsels and trains business people in a wide variety of business topics and provides comprehensive information services and access to experts in many fields. Counseling is provided free of charge to all Alabama small business owners.

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