North Carolina Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Marion, North Carolina

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

Marion, North Carolina Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
17423
5-9 Employees
7524
10-19 Employees
4389
20-49 Employees
3762
50-99 Employees
741
100-249 Employees
570
250-499 Employees
114
500-999 Employees
114
1000+ Employees
57
All Marion Businesses
34694

As a new Marion entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Marion 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
Ambulance Services
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
2
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Bottled Water Manufacturing
1
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
1
Business Associations
3
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
2
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
3
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
3
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Convenience Stores
6
Credit Unions
2
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying
3
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Electrical Contractors
7
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
3
Family Planning Centers
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
3
Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
3
Framing Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
20
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Stores
6
General Automotive Repair
4
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Hardware Stores
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Historical Sites
1
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
3
Household Appliance Stores
2
Hydroelectric Power Generation
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
13
Internet Service Providers
2
Janitorial Services
4
Jewelry Stores
4
Land Subdivision
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
21
Logging
3
Machine Shops
3
Mail-Order Houses
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
5
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Motor Vehicle Towing
2
Motorcycle Dealers
2
New Car Dealers
4
Newspaper Publishers
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
3
Offices of Chiropractors
3
Offices of Dentists
8
Offices of Lawyers
11
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing
1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Residential Property Managers
2
Residential Remodelers
6
Roofing Contractors
3
Sales Financing
1
Savings Institutions
1
Sawmills
1
Securities Brokerage
2
Shoe Stores
3
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply
1
Tax Preparation Services
5
Temporary Help Services
3
Tire Dealers
4
Used Car Dealers
8
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2

Have You Considered Franchising?

Examine a list of Marion 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 consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Benefits of Owning A Franchise. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Action Van & Truck World LTD and Interquest Detection Canines. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Embroidery Franchises and Meal Preparation Franchises.

Note on Marion Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Marion.

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.

Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Marion, it's critical that you ensure that you will be the only North Carolina company using the business name you have chosen.

Forming a Company in Marion, North Carolina

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will separate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating 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 North Carolina, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in North Carolina. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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 Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Marion, 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

Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Marion business is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Borrowing Money from Friends and Family.

For Marion entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of North Carolina Angel Investors and our List of North Carolina Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

To grow your Marion business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Comparing Advertising to PR is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

The best entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

Given that you are starting a business in Marion, North Carolina, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby North Carolina universities, colleges and community colleges. We also suggest you look into networking groups or organizations in which Marion entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Moving Forward

As an entrepreneur in Marion, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

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

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Marion, North Carolina

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

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