North Carolina Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Burlington, North Carolina
Need help starting a business in Burlington, North Carolina? We've got the information you need to open a business in Burlington.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Burlington. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Which Business to Choose?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.
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 How to Start a Career Planning & Employment Assistance Services Business guide or our Starting a Dentists Group & Corporate Practice Business guide.
Don't forget that starting a business in Burlington has some implications. If Burlington already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Don't forget to review Burlington demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Burlington, North Carolina Demographic Information
Burlington has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Burlington demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Burlington.
Businesses
As a new Burlington entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Burlington 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 Burlington Business?
We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in North Carolina. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Burlington.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Naming the Company
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.
Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Burlington, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another North Carolina business.
Forming a Company in Burlington, North Carolina
A critical step is ensuring that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
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 North Carolina, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in North Carolina. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Dissolving a Corporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Burlington, North Carolina, our web page covering Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Raising money to fund your new Burlington business is a difficult chore. 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 Business Line of Credit.
For Burlington entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of North Carolina Angel Investors and our List of North Carolina Venture Capital Firms.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Burlington. 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 Burlington and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Burlington 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 Burlington, North Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Burlington.
- Resources for Burlington, North Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Burlington entrepreneurs.
- North Carolina Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in North Carolina.
- North Carolina SBA - With offices in Charlotte, Wilmington, Raleigh and Asheville, the SBA organizes many events and provides useful resources for new entrepreneurs and growing businesses throughout North Carolina.
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