Virginia Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Pennington Gap, Virginia

Are you starting a business in Pennington Gap, Virginia? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Pennington Gap.

Is Becoming a Business Owner Right for You?

Most startup businesses fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

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:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Pennington Gap. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
  • We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

Pennington Gap, Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
231
5-9 Employees
105
10-19 Employees
63
20-49 Employees
24
50-99 Employees
6
100-249 Employees
6
250-499 Employees
3
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Pennington Gap Businesses
438

As a new Pennington Gap entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Pennington Gap 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
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
1
Car Washes
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
2
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Convenience Stores
2
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
4
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
3
General Automotive Repair
3
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Hardware Stores
1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
5
Landscaping Services
1
Logging
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
New Car Dealers
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Lawyers
2
Offices of Optometrists
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Radio Stations
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Residential Remodelers
2
Securities Brokerage
1
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Support Activities for Coal Mining
1
Tax Preparation Services
2
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
2
Tobacco Stores
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Pennington Gap Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Virginia. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Pennington Gap.

If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.

Naming the Company

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

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?

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Pennington Gap, it's imperative that you check now that no Virginia company has already registered the company name you have selected.

Forming a Company in Pennington Gap, Virginia

It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporation is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Virginia. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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 Offshore Company Formation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Pennington Gap, Virginia, our web page covering Incorporating in Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Virginia.

The Role of the Business Plan

A business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Software. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Virginia.

Moving Forward

Most new Pennington Gap businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

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

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Pennington Gap and throughout the United States . 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 Pennington Gap, Virginia

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Virginia

Starting a Business in Pearisburg
Starting a Business in Petersburg

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Virginia
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary