Kentucky Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Carrollton, Kentucky

Are you starting a business in Carrollton, Kentucky? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Carrollton.

What Business to Start

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. We recommend that you read Free 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 Dentists Group & Corporate Practice Business guide or our How to Start a Hotels Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in Carrollton. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Carrollton. Make sure you fully understand Carrollton demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Carrollton, Kentucky Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2241
5-9 Employees
1404
10-19 Employees
864
20-49 Employees
459
50-99 Employees
135
100-249 Employees
243
250-499 Employees
27
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Carrollton Businesses
5373

As a new Carrollton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Carrollton 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 Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Business Associations
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Community Food Services
1
Consumer Lending
1
Digital Printing
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Electric Power Distribution
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Engineering Services
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Floor Covering Stores
2
Florists
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
4
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Gypsum Product Manufacturing
1
Hardware Stores
1
Historical Sites
1
Home Centers
1
Homes for the Elderly
2
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
4
Janitorial Services
1
Jewelry Stores
1
Landscaping Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
12
Machine Shops
1
Masonry Contractors
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
3
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
2
Offices of Lawyers
5
Offices of Optometrists
1
Paging
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Savings Institutions
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
1
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Tax Preparation Services
1
Temporary Help Services
4
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tobacco Stores
1
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Naming the Company

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Carrollton, it's imperative that you check now that no other Kentucky company is using the business name you want to use.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Having a business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without 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 Business Presentations. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Kentucky.

Raising Funding for Your Business

Getting your Carrollton business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Investor Turnoffs.

For Carrollton entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of Kentucky Angel Investors and our List of Kentucky Venture Capital Firms.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

The best business owners recognize that they need to continually improve.

Given that you are starting a business in Carrollton, Kentucky, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Kentucky universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking organizations for Carrollton entrepreneurs.

Moving Forward

Most new Carrollton businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

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 Carrollton and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Carrollton, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Carrollton, Kentucky

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

  • Resources for Carrollton, Kentucky Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Carrollton entrepreneurs.
  • Kentucky Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Kentucky.
  • Kentucky Small Business Development Center - The Kentucky Small Business Development Center (KSBDC) has been assisting Kentucky small business community for more than 25 years. KSBDC is co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and is administered by the University of Kentucky in partnership with regional universities, community and private colleges, and the private sector.

More Business Startup Guides for Kentucky

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Starting a Business in Central City

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