North Carolina Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Wake Forest, North Carolina
Contemplating starting a business in Wake Forest, North Carolina? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Wake Forest.
Which Business to Choose?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Good Business Ideas.
For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Geriatric Care Management Business guide or our Starting a Library Management & Research Services Business guide.
Remember that starting a business in Wake Forest has some implications. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Wake Forest. Make sure you fully understand Wake Forest demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Wake Forest, North Carolina Demographic Information
Wake Forest has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Wake Forest demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Wake Forest.
Businesses
As a new Wake Forest entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Wake Forest 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
Should You Franchise?
Examine a list of Wake Forest businesses and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Evidently, there must be some significant advantages to purchasing a franchise.
We highly recommend you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as How to Franchise a Business. 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 The Screenmobile and Me-N-Ed's Pizzerias. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Tanning Franchises and Marketing, Sales and Advertising Franchises.
Note on Wake Forest Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Wake Forest.
Selecting a Name For Your Venture
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.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Wake Forest, it's imperative that you check now that no North Carolina company has already registered the company name you have selected.
Company Formation in Wake Forest, North Carolina
It's very important 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.
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 common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in North Carolina, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in North Carolina. 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's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Where to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Wake Forest, North Carolina, our web page covering Incorporating in North Carolina may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in North Carolina.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Obtaining startup financing for your Wake Forest business is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
Recognizing this challenge, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Attracting Investors.
For Wake Forest entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, browse our List of North Carolina Angel Investors and our List of North Carolina Venture Capital Firms.
How to Sell
Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Wake Forest business to do well.
Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Writing Great Proposals is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Next Steps
Most new Wake Forest businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Wake Forest and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Wake Forest, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Wake Forest, North Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Wake Forest.
- Resources for Wake Forest, North Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Wake Forest 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.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in North Carolina
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