West Virginia Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Franklin, West Virginia
Need help starting a business in Franklin, West Virginia? We've got the information you need to open a business in Franklin.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Golf Associations Business guide or our Opening a Lawn Mowers Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.
Don't forget that your new startup will be located in Franklin. Some businesses will do better in Franklin than others. Study Franklin demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Franklin, West Virginia Demographic Information
Franklin has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Franklin demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Franklin.
Businesses
As a new Franklin entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Franklin 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
Is Franchising a Better Option?
Visit the business district of Franklin and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?
Most business experts recommend that you investigate buying a franchise. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Franchising Mistakes. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.
Representative franchise opportunities include Pro Golf Discount and Medsonix Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Closet Design and Construction Franchises and Fast Food Franchises.
Note on Franklin Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Franklin.
Forming a Company in Franklin, West Virginia
It's very important that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
Incorporation 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 any state you would like to. 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 Nevada Incorporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Franklin, 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 Franklin business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Business Cash Advances.
For Franklin entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, you'll want to take a look at our List of West Virginia Angel Investors and our List of West Virginia Venture Capital Firms.
Ramping Up Sales
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Franklin business to do well.
Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Cold Call Selling offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Moving Forward
Most new Franklin businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Franklin and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Franklin 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 Franklin, West Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Franklin.
- Resources for Franklin, West Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Franklin 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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