North Carolina Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Washington, North Carolina
Are you starting a business in Washington, North Carolina? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Washington.
Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?
Before you get too far along in the process, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Washington. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- Take a look at The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. 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.
What Business Are You Starting?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.
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 Womens Clothing Store guide or our Opening an Emergency Disaster Preparedness Equipment & Supplies Business guide.
Don't forget that Washington is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in Washington than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Washington demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Washington, North Carolina Demographic Information
Washington has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Washington demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Washington.
Businesses
As a new Washington entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Washington 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?
As you drive around Washington, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Is it perhaps smarter to franchise a business instead of doing it from scratch.
Our recommendation is that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising My Business. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp. and easyInternetcafe Franchising, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Restaurant Franchises and Donut Shop Franchises.
Note on Washington Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Washington.
Raising Capital for Your Venture
Getting your Washington business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Credit Evaluation.
For Washington entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of North Carolina Angel Investors and our List of North Carolina Venture Capital Firms.
The Art of Selling
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Washington or are selling to customers throughout North Carolina, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Selling on the Phone is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
The best entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Washington, North Carolina, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local North Carolina educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Washington entrepreneurs.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Washington. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Washington and throughout the United States . 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 Washington, North Carolina
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Washington.
- Resources for Washington, North Carolina Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Washington 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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