North Carolina Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Selma, North Carolina
Are you starting a business in Selma, North Carolina? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Selma.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
An entrepreneurial life is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure you want to go into business for yourself?
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 Selma. 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.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Good 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 How to Start a Concert Ticket Agents Business guide or our Opening a Window Coverings Installation, Cleaning, & Repair Business guide.
Don't forget that starting a business in Selma has some implications. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Selma. Study Selma demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Selma, North Carolina Demographic Information
Selma has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Selma demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Selma.
Businesses
As a new Selma entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Selma 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
What About Franchising Opportunities?
Visit the business district of Selma and you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. But is franchising the right option for you?
Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising Scams. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Sample franchise opportunities include Tubby's Sub Shops and BathCrest. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Consulting Franchises and Franchises that Serve Liquor.
Note on Selma Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Selma.
Forming a Company in Selma, North Carolina
It's very important that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. 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 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 Getting an EIN. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Selma, North Carolina, our information on Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.
Marketing Your New Venture
To grow your Selma business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your business achieving its goals.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Buying Radio Ads is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in Selma, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Selma businesses to be successful. 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 Selma, North Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Selma.
- Resources for Selma, North Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Selma 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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