Georgia Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Athens, Georgia
Are you starting a business in Athens, Georgia? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Athens.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you positive you are ready to take on this challenge?
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Athens. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Athens, Georgia Demographic Information
Athens has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Athens demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Athens.
Businesses
As a new Athens entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Athens 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
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Athens Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Georgia. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Athens.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.
Forming a Company in Athens, Georgia
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield 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 Georgia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Georgia. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Nevada Incorporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Athens, Georgia, our information on Incorporating in Georgia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Georgia.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Georgia.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Athens, Georgia, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Georgia universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also wise to see if there are any Athens networking organizations.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in Athens, 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 Athens and throughout the United States . 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 Athens, Georgia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Athens.
- Resources for Athens, Georgia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Athens entrepreneurs.
- Georgia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Georgia.
- Georgia Small Business Development Center - The Georgia SBDC program helps Georgia entrepreneurs with developing business plans, providing financial analysis, identifying sources of capital, and assessing marketing strategies.
More Startup Articles for Georgia Cities
Starting a Business in Ashburn
Starting a Business in Atlanta
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Georgia
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs