North Carolina Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Jacksonville, North Carolina
Are you starting a business in Jacksonville, North Carolina? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Jacksonville.
What Business to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read 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 Starting an Internet Training Business guide or our How to Start a Sewing Business guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Jacksonville. Some businesses will do better in Jacksonville than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Jacksonville demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Jacksonville, North Carolina Demographic Information
Jacksonville has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Jacksonville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Jacksonville.
Businesses
As a new Jacksonville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Jacksonville 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
Have You Considered Franchising?
Examine a list of Jacksonville businesses and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. But is franchising the right option for you?
Our advice is to look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Growth Trends in Franchising. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Pizzeria Venti and Hamburger Mary's Bar & Grille. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Bagel Franchises and eBay Franchises.
Note on Jacksonville Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Jacksonville, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Jacksonville Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in North Carolina. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Jacksonville.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Forming a Company in Jacksonville, North Carolina
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. 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 North Carolina, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in North Carolina. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe 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 Jacksonville, North Carolina, our information on Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Getting your Jacksonville business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Credit Evaluation.
For Jacksonville entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, browse our List of North Carolina Angel Investors and our List of North Carolina Venture Capital Firms.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Company
To rise above the crowd in Jacksonville and grow your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Advertising on Google is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Now It's Up To You
As an entrepreneur in Jacksonville, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Jacksonville businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville, North Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Jacksonville.
- Resources for Jacksonville, North Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Jacksonville entrepreneurs.
- North Carolina Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in North Carolina.
- North Carolina SBA - With offices in Charlotte, Wilmington, Raleigh and Asheville, the SBA organizes many events and provides useful resources for new entrepreneurs and growing businesses throughout North Carolina.
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