South Carolina Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Manning, South Carolina

Thinking about starting a business in Manning, South Carolina? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Manning.

Do You Have What It Takes?

Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

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

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Manning. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
  • Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

Manning, South Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1126
5-9 Employees
510
10-19 Employees
330
20-49 Employees
150
50-99 Employees
30
100-249 Employees
54
250-499 Employees
6
500-999 Employees
6
1000+ Employees
0
All Manning Businesses
2212

As a new Manning entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Manning 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
Advertising Agencies
1
Ambulance Services
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Beauty Salons
3
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
1
Business Associations
1
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Car Washes
1
Caterers
1
Child Day Care Services
5
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Consumer Lending
9
Convenience Stores
2
Credit Unions
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Electrical Contractors
4
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
3
Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Florists
3
Food Service Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
15
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Stores
6
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
5
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
3
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
6
Janitorial Services
5
Jewelry Stores
2
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
18
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Logging
3
Machine Shops
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Marinas
2
Masonry Contractors
2
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Nail Salons
1
New Car Dealers
2
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
2
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Lawyers
7
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Professional Organizations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Shoe Stores
2
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Support Activities for Forestry
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Tobacco Stores
1
Truck Trailer Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
3
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
1
Wood Preservation
1

What About Buying an Existing Manning Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in South Carolina. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Manning.

If you are intent on buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying 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.

Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.

On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Manning, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another South Carolina business.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read The Art of the Executive Summary. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in South Carolina.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Raising money to fund your new Manning business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Angel Investors.

For Manning entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, we have assembled a List of South Carolina Angel Investors and our List of South Carolina Venture Capital Firms.

Bring in Revenues

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

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Landing Big Customers offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Manning. 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.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Manning and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Manning, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

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

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

More Business Startup Guides for South Carolina

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Starting a Business in Marietta

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