West Virginia Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Charleston, West Virginia
Are you starting a business in Charleston, West Virginia? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Charleston.
Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
Most startup ventures don't make it, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Charleston. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- Take a look at Business Failure. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Charleston, West Virginia Demographic Information
Charleston has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Charleston demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Charleston.
Businesses
As a new Charleston entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Charleston 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
What About Buying an Existing Charleston Business?
We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in West Virginia. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Charleston.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Picking 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.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Charleston, it's imperative that you check now that no other West Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Charleston, West Virginia
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will insulate 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 common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in West Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in West Virginia. As it turns out, you are allowed to incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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 basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Registered Agents. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Charleston, West Virginia, our information on Incorporating in West Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in West Virginia.
Startup Financing Basics
Getting your Charleston business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled How Equity Dilution Works.
For Charleston entrepreneurs who need startup capital, we have assembled a List of West Virginia Angel Investors and our List of West Virginia Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Startup
Whether your goal is to attract Charleston customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your successs.
You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Pricing discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
What's Next?
Most new Charleston businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Charleston and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Charleston 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 Charleston, West Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Charleston.
- Resources for Charleston, West Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Charleston entrepreneurs.
- West Virginia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in West Virginia.
- West Virginia Small Business Development Center - The West Virginia Small Business Development Center (WVSBDC) promotes economic development through a program of practical, interrelated services, providing assistance to existing West Virginia small businesses and the emerging West Virginia entrepreneur.
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