West Virginia Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Elkins, West Virginia
Thinking about starting a business in Elkins, West Virginia? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Elkins.
What Business Are You Starting?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Evaluating Your Idea.
If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Feeders Business guide or our How to Start a Reproductive Endocrinology Physicians & Surgeons Business guide.
Don't forget that your new business will be in Elkins. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Elkins. Make sure you fully understand Elkins demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Elkins, West Virginia Demographic Information
Elkins has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Elkins demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Elkins.
Businesses
As a new Elkins entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Elkins 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 Elkins Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in West Virginia. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Elkins.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
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.
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.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Elkins, it's very important that you make sure no other West Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Elkins, West Virginia
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The primary advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will 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 can incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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 Corporate Formalities. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Elkins, West Virginia, our information on Incorporating in West Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in West Virginia.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Presentations. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in West Virginia.
Promoting Your New Company
Whether your goal is to attract Elkins customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Print Advertising Costs is a good read to get your marketing thoughts flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Elkins. 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 Elkins and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Elkins 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 Elkins, West Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Elkins.
- Resources for Elkins, West Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Elkins 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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