Virginia Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Emporia, Virginia

Thinking about starting a business in Emporia, Virginia? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Emporia.

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 stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 Opening a Wakeboards & Equipment Business guide or our Opening a Printing Equipment & Supplies Dealers Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in Emporia. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Emporia. A critical consideration is whether Emporia demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Emporia, Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
918
5-9 Employees
486
10-19 Employees
264
20-49 Employees
162
50-99 Employees
42
100-249 Employees
48
250-499 Employees
24
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Emporia Businesses
1944

As a new Emporia entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Emporia 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
Ambulance Services
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
3
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
1
Car Washes
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Caterers
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
3
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
5
Cotton Ginning
1
Couriers
2
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electronic Shopping
1
Engineering Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
2
Florists
2
Food Service Contractors
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Stores
2
General Automotive Repair
6
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
4
Internet Service Providers
1
Iron Foundries
1
Jewelry Stores
1
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
11
Logging
2
Masonry Contractors
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Narrow Fabric Mills
1
New Car Dealers
3
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
4
Offices of Lawyers
8
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Podiatrists
3
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Professional Organizations
1
Rendering and Meat Byproduct Processing
1
Residential Remodelers
4
Roofing Contractors
2
Savings Institutions
1
Sawmills
2
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
2
Support Activities for Forestry
1
Tax Preparation Services
2
Taxi Service
2
Temporary Help Services
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Used Car Dealers
3
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
2
Zoos and Botanical Gardens
1

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

As you drive around Emporia, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Evidently, there must be some significant advantages to purchasing a franchise.

Our recommendation is that you evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as How to Get More Franchisees. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Rainbow Station and GoCar Franchise Services. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Textile Repair Franchises.

Note on Emporia Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Emporia.

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Emporia Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Virginia. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Emporia.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

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.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are planning on starting a business in Emporia, it's imperative that you check now that you will be the only Virginia company using the business name you have chosen.

Forming a Company in Emporia, Virginia

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield 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 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 Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Virginia. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. 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 fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Emporia, Virginia, our information on Incorporating in Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Virginia.

Bring in Revenues

Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Emporia business to do well.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Anticipating Prospect Responses offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Never Give Up

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

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Emporia businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Emporia 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 Emporia, Virginia

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

More Business Startup Guides for Virginia

Starting a Business in Elkton
Starting a Business in Fairfax

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Virginia
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary