Virginia Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Thinking about starting a business in Virginia Beach, Virginia? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Virginia Beach.
Virginia Beach, Virginia Demographic Information
Virginia Beach has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Virginia Beach demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Virginia Beach.
Businesses
As a new Virginia Beach entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Virginia Beach 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
Choosing a Company Name
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.
Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Virginia Beach, it's imperative that you check now that no other Virginia company is using the business name you want to use.
Company Formation in Virginia Beach, Virginia
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will insulate 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 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. Just because you are starting a business in Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Virginia. In fact, you are allowed to 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's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Virginia Beach, Virginia, our information on Incorporating in Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Virginia.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
A business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Virginia.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Getting your Virginia Beach 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.
The good news is this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Getting a Small Business Loan.
For Virginia Beach entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Virginia Angel Investors and our List of Virginia Venture Capital Firms.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
Successful entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.
With your business being located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Virginia universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also wise to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Virginia Beach entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
What's Next?
Most new Virginia Beach 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.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Virginia Beach and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Virginia Beach, Virginia
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Virginia Beach.
- Resources for Virginia Beach, Virginia Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Virginia Beach 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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