South Carolina Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Walterboro, South Carolina

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

What Type of Business Should You Start?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read 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 Starting a Party Supplies Business guide or our Starting a Visual Arts Business guide.

Always keep in mind that your new business will be in Walterboro. Some businesses will do better in Walterboro than others. A critical consideration is whether Walterboro demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Walterboro, South Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
925
5-9 Employees
450
10-19 Employees
288
20-49 Employees
147
50-99 Employees
45
100-249 Employees
21
250-499 Employees
6
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
0
All Walterboro Businesses
1885

As a new Walterboro entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Walterboro 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
Amusement Arcades
1
Architectural Services
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Beauty Salons
4
Book Stores
2
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
2
Business Associations
1
Car Washes
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Civic and Social Organizations
5
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Consumer Lending
10
Convenience Stores
2
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Credit Unions
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
3
Discount Department Stores
1
Display Advertising
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
5
Environmental Consulting Services
3
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
3
Family Clothing Stores
3
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Floor Covering Stores
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
1
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Full-Service Restaurants
13
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
4
Furniture Stores
6
General Automotive Repair
7
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
2
Historical Sites
1
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
5
Household Appliance Stores
4
Industrial Launderers
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
16
Interior Design Services
1
Janitorial Services
2
Jewelry Stores
6
Kidney Dialysis Centers
2
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
7
Limited-Service Restaurants
15
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
1
Mail-Order Houses
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
5
Masonry Contractors
4
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
2
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
5
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
7
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Optical Goods Stores
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Paper (except Newsprint) Mills
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
5
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing
1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
2
Residential Remodelers
2
Roofing Contractors
1
Sales Financing
1
Savings Institutions
2
Sawmills
2
Securities Brokerage
1
Shoe Stores
2
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Solid Waste Collection
2
Solid Waste Combustors and Incinerators
1
Solid Waste Landfill
2
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Support Activities for Forestry
3
Taxi Service
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire Dealers
3
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tobacco Stores
1
Used Car Dealers
4
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
4
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
4
Women's Clothing Stores
3
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2

Choosing a Business Name

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.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

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 opening a business in Walterboro, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another South Carolina business.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Having a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading The Art of the Executive Summary. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in South Carolina.

Building Up Your Sales

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

Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Hiring Good Sales People 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.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Good entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Walterboro, South Carolina, you should get information on some of the learning programs at local South Carolina educational institutions. You should also check if there are any Walterboro networking organizations.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Walterboro. 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 Walterboro and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Walterboro 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 Walterboro, South Carolina

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

More Business Startup Guides for South Carolina

Starting a Business in Union
Starting a Business in Ware Shoals

Browse All Business Startup Guides for South Carolina
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