West Virginia Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Sutton, West Virginia
Contemplating starting a business in Sutton, West Virginia? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Sutton.
Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?
Before you get too far along in the process, 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:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Sutton. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
Which Business to Choose?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Finding Your Niche in Life.
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 Starting a National Security Business guide or our How to Start a Hotel Representatives Business guide.
Remember that you are starting a business in Sutton. Some businesses will do better in Sutton than others. Study Sutton demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Sutton, West Virginia Demographic Information
Sutton has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Sutton demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Sutton.
Businesses
As a new Sutton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Sutton 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
Is Franchising a Better Option?
As you drive around Sutton, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Would going with a franchise be a good idea for you?
Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Selling A Franchise. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.
Representative franchise opportunities include Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Incredibly Edible Delites, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Rental Franchises and Hotel and Motel Franchises.
Note on Sutton Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Sutton.
Naming the Company
Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.
We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Sutton, it's very important that you make sure no other West Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Sutton, West Virginia
It's essential that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporation is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in West Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in West Virginia. As it turns out, 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 Corporate Formalities. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Sutton, West Virginia, our information on Incorporating in West Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in West Virginia.
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Presentations. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in West Virginia.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Sutton. 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.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Sutton and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Sutton entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Sutton, West Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Sutton.
- Resources for Sutton, West Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Sutton entrepreneurs.
- West Virginia Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in West Virginia.
- West Virginia Small Business Development Center - The West Virginia Small Business Development Center (WVSBDC) promotes economic development through a program of practical, interrelated services, providing assistance to existing West Virginia small businesses and the emerging West Virginia entrepreneur.
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