Virginia Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Salem, Virginia
Contemplating starting a business in Salem, Virginia? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Salem.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
An entrepreneurial life is difficult, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you sure you are ready to take on this challenge?
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Salem. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- 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.
Salem, Virginia Demographic Information
Salem has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Salem demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Salem.
Businesses
As a new Salem entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Salem 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 Buying an Existing Salem Business?
We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Virginia. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Salem.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.
Forming a Company in Salem, Virginia
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
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 Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Virginia. 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 LLC Advantages. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Salem, Virginia, our information on Incorporating in Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Virginia.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Getting your Salem business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Incubators.
For Salem entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Virginia Angel Investors and our List of Virginia Venture Capital Firms.
The Art of Selling
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Salem business, you need to focus on sales.
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.
Closing Sales Techniques is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in Salem, 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.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Salem and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Salem, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Salem, Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Salem.
- Resources for Salem, Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Salem entrepreneurs.
- Virginia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Virginia.
- Virginia Small Business Development Center - Virginia Small Business Development Centers offer professional business counseling, training and information resources to help grow and strengthen Virginia businesses.
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