West Virginia Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Hamlin, West Virginia
Are you starting a business in Hamlin, West Virginia? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Hamlin.
Are You Ready for the Challenges of Being an Entrepreneur?
Before quitting your day job, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
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:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Hamlin. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- You should read Starting a Company. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Talk it over with a close friend or partner. 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.
Hamlin, West Virginia Demographic Information
Hamlin has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Hamlin demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Hamlin.
Businesses
As a new Hamlin entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hamlin 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 Hamlin Business?
We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in West Virginia. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Hamlin.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Naming the Business
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.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Hamlin, it's very important that you make sure no other West Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. Simply put, 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.
Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in West Virginia.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Getting your Hamlin business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Line of Credit.
For Hamlin entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of West Virginia Angel Investors and our List of West Virginia Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Business
Whether your goal is to attract Hamlin customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a solid marketing plan.
You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Sponsoring Local Events is a good read to get your marketing juices 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 Hamlin. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Hamlin businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Hamlin, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Hamlin, West Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Hamlin.
- Resources for Hamlin, West Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Hamlin 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.
More Startup Articles for West Virginia Cities
Starting a Business in Grantsville
Starting a Business in Harrisville
Browse All Business Startup Guides for West Virginia
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs