Georgia Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Columbus, Georgia
Contemplating starting a business in Columbus, Georgia? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Columbus.
Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
Most new ventures don't make it, in part because the business owner did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Columbus. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
What Business Are You Starting?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Good Business Ideas.
For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Quarry guide or our Opening a Waterjet Cutting Services Business guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Columbus. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Columbus. Study Columbus demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Columbus, Georgia Demographic Information
Columbus has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Columbus demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Columbus.
Businesses
As a new Columbus entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Columbus 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 Columbus 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 Columbus.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.
Startup Financing Basics
Raising money to fund your new Columbus business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Attracting Investors.
For Columbus entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Georgia Angel Investors and our List of Georgia Venture Capital Firms.
Letting the World Know You Exist
To grow your Columbus business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Advertising in the Yellow Pages 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 taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
What's Next?
Most new Columbus 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 Columbus and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Columbus 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 Columbus, Georgia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Columbus.
- Resources for Columbus, Georgia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Columbus 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.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Georgia
Starting a Business in Colquitt
Starting a Business in Commerce
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Georgia
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
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