Virginia Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Fort Belvoir, Virginia

Contemplating starting a business in Fort Belvoir, Virginia? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Fort Belvoir.

Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?

Most new ventures don't make it, in part because the founder did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary 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.

  • Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Fort Belvoir. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
  • Peruse Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.

Fort Belvoir, Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
165
5-9 Employees
39
10-19 Employees
54
20-49 Employees
60
50-99 Employees
12
100-249 Employees
3
250-499 Employees
6
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Fort Belvoir Businesses
339

As a new Fort Belvoir entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Fort Belvoir 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
Beauty Salons
1
Cafeterias
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Computer Facilities Management Services
6
Computer Systems Design Services
13
Credit Unions
4
Engineering Services
7
Facilities Support Services
1
Florists
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
3
Full-Service Restaurants
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Investigation Services
1
Jewelry Stores
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
2
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Optical Goods Stores
2
Residential Property Managers
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
3
Temporary Shelters
1
Travel Agencies
3
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Vending Machine Operators
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2

Should You Franchise?

As you drive around Fort Belvoir, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. So, it probably makes sense for you to consider franchising too.

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as The Disadvantages of Franchise Ownership. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include ABC Inc and Jiffy Lube International, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Bookstore Franchises and Personal Services Franchises.

Note on Fort Belvoir Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Fort Belvoir, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

What About Buying an Existing Fort Belvoir Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Virginia. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Fort Belvoir.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.

Choosing a Company 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.

Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.

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

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Fort Belvoir, it's imperative that you check now that no other Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Getting your Fort Belvoir business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Bank Credit Lines.

For Fort Belvoir entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Virginia Angel Investors and our List of Virginia Venture Capital Firms.

Bring in Revenues

Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Fort Belvoir business to do well.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Effective Sales Presentations 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 Fort Belvoir 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 Fort Belvoir businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Fort Belvoir, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Fort Belvoir, Virginia

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

More Startup Articles for Virginia Cities

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