South Carolina Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Hampton, South Carolina

Are you starting a business in Hampton, South Carolina? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Hampton.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before you get too far along in the process, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Hampton. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

What Business to Start

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 Free Business Ideas.

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 Legal Service Plans Business guide or our Opening a Men's Organizations Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in Hampton. Some businesses will do better in Hampton than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Hampton demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Hampton, South Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
4043
5-9 Employees
1560
10-19 Employees
741
20-49 Employees
585
50-99 Employees
78
100-249 Employees
0
250-499 Employees
39
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Hampton Businesses
7046

As a new Hampton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hampton 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
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Business Associations
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Child Day Care Services
2
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Consumer Lending
6
Electric Power Distribution
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Floor Covering Stores
1
Florists
2
Food Service Contractors
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
4
General Automotive Repair
5
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
4
Home Centers
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
8
Landscaping Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
10
Logging
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Poultry Processing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Support Activities for Forestry
1
Timber Tract Operations
1
Used Car Dealers
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
2

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.

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 planning on starting a business in Hampton, it's very important that you make sure no other South Carolina company is using the business name you want to use.

The Role of the Business Plan

A business plan is vital 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.

If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in South Carolina.

The Art of Selling

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Hampton or are selling to customers throughout South Carolina, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Why Salespeople Fail is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Hampton. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

We are here to help Hampton businesses to be successful. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Hampton, South Carolina

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

More Business Startup Guides for South Carolina

Starting a Business in Greer
Starting a Business in Hartsville

Browse All Business Startup Guides for South Carolina
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