Want to Start a Business in Georgia?
Last Updated: By TRUiC Team
This page is dedicated to the best resources for starting a business in Georgia.
Learn more about how to start a business in Georgia.
Or simply use a professional service and start your business today:
Business Resources in Georgia
Find the best resources to help create your informal business structure (sole proprietorship or partnership), corporation (S corp or C corp), limited liability company (single-member LLC or multi-member LLC), or how to file a DBA in Georgia.
Use the following business resources in Georgia to learn how to choose the best LLC services, file the Articles of Organization, obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN), and decide whether you should be your own registered agent or if you should hire a third-party registered agent service.
Becoming an Entrepreneur in Georgia
Just Starting Out
Every Georgia business starts out with a great idea. To get inspiration, you can try our business idea generator that can suggest businesses for you based on your interests and lifestyle.
Once you've found the perfect idea, it's time to create a game plan for your business. This step helps lay a solid foundation for the future of your company. You can move on to planning out your business with our business plan generator or simply browse our selection of startup ideas. We also have several helpful guides for planning out your business:
Coming Up With a Name
One of the most important decisions you will make for your business is coming up with a name and then seeing if it is available in Georgia. We have several naming tools and guides to help you get started with finding the perfect name for your Georgia startup, small business, nonprofit or corporation.
Different Types of Business Formation
A business structure refers to how a business is legally organized. The type of business structure you choose to form your business with can affect how your company is regulated, taxed, and more. Because of this, choosing the best structure for your business is an important decision to make. Below are guides on the different business structures you can choose to form your company so you can learn how to form a business that works best for you.
Forming Your Georgia Business
Now that you’ve created a business plan, found a name and chose your Georgia business structure, it's time to form your business. This process might seem complicated, but it doesn't have to be. And if you want to save time and have someone else handle the paperwork, you can use one of our recommended services, like ZenBusiness, which will help to form your company for you or you can form it yourself using our helpful guides and tools.
LLC Checklist
This Georgia Checklist for Starting an LLC covers the necessary steps you need to take when you create your LLC.
Formation Necessities
Here are the required documents and forms you may need to help you get your business up and running in Georgia.
Highly Recommended Services for Your Business
Depending on the type of business structure your choose and how large your business is, you may also want to consider using the following services for your Georgia startup:
Registered Agent
A Georgia registered agent is a person or business that sends and receives legal papers on behalf of your company. These documents include official correspondence like legal summons and state filing notices.
Georgia requires every business to nominate a registered agent when forming a small business. Your registered agent must be a Georgia resident or a corporation authorized to conduct business in that Georgia.
We also recommend hiring a professional registered agent service to provide you with peace of mind and help you stay compliant with the law.
DBA
Filing a “doing business as” (DBA) name, also known as a trade name, is an easy process that is achieved by registering a DBA with the State of Georgia.
Branding
You can probably think of a dozen different companies in Georgia whose brands play an important role in your daily or professional life. Maybe you only buy certain brands or prefer to buy your groceries at one supermarket chain over another. Your dedication to these companies is primarily a result of one thing: their branding. Our branding guides and tools will go over the importance of branding your small business and provide some tips for getting started.
Financing Your Georgia Business
Small business finance is the raising and managing of funds to finance and operate a new small business. This includes banking, small business accounting, building business credit, and raising funds for your business.
When planning your Georgia business, you should determine what types of business funding options your company will need and when. Whether you are starting a low-cost business or starting a high-growth startup, knowing when to get funding and what kind of funding you need is important.
Setting Up a Bank Account
Opening a business checking account is one of the first things you will need to do as a new business. Business banking is a fundamental asset protection requirement for every business and, depending on your needs, may include checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, and merchant accounts.
Every new and small business needs a business bank account to pay their business insurance, take care of payroll, collect money, and enroll with a merchant account to accept credit card payments.
Check out our guide on the Best Banks for Small Business for help finding a banking account for your business.
Getting a Business Credit Card
Small business credit cards are designed for professional use and provide a line of credit to small businesses while helping to maintain personal asset protection. It is crucial for small businesses to have a small business credit card.
Our guides will help you understand the importance of having a small business credit card and provide the steps for finding and applying for the best credit card for your business.
Finding Small Business Loans
Getting a small business loan is done by applying with a business lender, typically your bank or another lending institution, with the right documentation and your business plan.
A business loan can help to resolve cash flow problems, leverage growth opportunities, and even increase the value of a business. Making sure to plan for a loan ahead of time is extremely important, as is knowing the documentation needed by your lender when you do apply.
Small Business Financing for Female Entrepreneurs
Grants, loans, government contracts, investors, scholarships, advisors, tutorials — there are plenty of financial resources for female entrepreneurs and women leaders, and we’ll help you discover the best ones for you and your business.
Maintaining Your Small Business
Congratulations! Fewer than 14% of Americans have realized the dream of business ownership. To keep your Georgia business running, make sure you keep up with required government filings and maintain a clear record of all earnings and expenses.
Make Sure Your Business is Compliant
When you start a small business, you’ll need to determine if your business needs any licenses or permits to stay compliant.
Set Up Accounting and Bookkeeping
Having a business accountant will help you take advantage of tax benefits and potentially save you and your Georgia business a lot of money in taxes each year.
Finding a business accountant as soon as you start your business will ensure that you have the best advice from the very beginning.
Recommended: Hiring an accountant can save your company thousands of dollars in taxes each year. Get a free tax consultation with 1-800Accountant.
Set Up a Business Phone
Getting a business phone number is important for many businesses. Having a phone number for your customers to contact you with can go a long way in ensuring that your business is viewed as professional, trustworthy, and legitimate.
There are also different business phone services and answering services that can ensure that you are able to answer more than one call simultaneously and that all of your customers feel heard. Check out our different phone tools and guides to help your Georgia business set up phone services.
Build a Business Website
With growing technology, more and more businesses are going online. We believe all companies need a website regardless of their industry or size to keep up with the times.
So, how do you build a website? Luckily, technology has recently caught up with the massive demand for tools to simplify website creation. It’s never been easier to build your own website without the need for any web designer experience.
Our tools and guides provide an overview of the steps to build a website for your Georgia business as well as suggestions for which tools to use based on your business type and knowledge level.
Business Resources for Women
Starting your own business is no small feat; thankfully, there are many valuable resources dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs start and succeed. From woman-owned business certification to grants for female entrepreneurs, we’ll help you discover the women's business resources that will help you get the most out of your entrepreneurial journey.
Georgia Business Resources
Georgia USA Small Business Resource Directory
A resource center that basically contains all the information that you need to know about Georgia’s business industry. If you’re an entrepreneur who wants to start, grow and finance your small business or learn and connect with other entrepreneurs, the Georgia USA Small Business Resource Directory is the place for you.
Georgia Chamber
The Georgia Chamber creates opportunities for small businesses by providing them with numerous business resources which include business education and webinars, online human resource library, access to capital, discounts on office supplies, advertising opportunities and a lot more.
Georgia State University Small Business Development Center
The Georgia State University Small Business Development Center is a public service agency that gives free consulting and management training to Georgia small businesses. The center has a team of professional and experienced business consultants who are ready to mentor aspiring entrepreneurs.
SBA Georgia District Office
The U.S. Small Business Administration Georgia District Office is a government agency that provides statewide assistance to entrepreneurs from Georgia who want to start their own business within the state. The SBA will give you assistance in looking for grants and loans, provide you with local assistance and help you as you start and manage your business.
University of Georgia Small Business Development Center
The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center is a government initiative that provides a variety of business educational services to small business owners and new entrepreneurs in Georgia. The agency will teach you how to start and grow a small business, provide you with business training and educate you on international trade.
SCORE Atlanta
SCORE Atlanta’s mission is to fulfill every entrepreneur’s dream to start a business in the city as well as in the state of Georgia. SCORE has competent and experienced business coaches that will help small business owners by mentoring them on how to grow and expand their business.
TheClubhou.se
theClubhou.se is a non-profit organization that operates an incubator, coworking space, makerspace, educational, and mentorship programs for entrepreneurs in the Augusta area and Ft. Gordon Cyber District. Members primarily come from a 7 county region covering Georgia and South Carolina. theClubhou.se partners with the city government, local chambers, UGA Small Business Development Center, Georgia Tech Advanced Technology Development Center, and many other organizations to create a central hub for entrepreneur activity in Augusta’s rapidly growing cyber district. Regionally, it operates a Mesh Network of Innovation linking collaborative grassroots incubators to form a 5 city venture network to support startups in small and midsize cities in the southeast.
Greater Women's Business Council
Greater Women’s Business Council is a business organization about women, for women, and to empower women through certification, education, and access to companies ready to do business with women-owned businesses.
Urban League of Greater Atlanta Entrepreneurship Center
A program sponsored by the Atlanta League to encourage minority entrepreneurs in urban areas which is operated at the Atlanta Entrepreneurship Center.
The program is composed of a community referral network where business owners are provided to help their business grow through links with local resource partners, and an intrusive coaching component to help entrepreneurs meet their business goals.
Georgia Micro Enterprise Network
The Georgia Micro Enterprise Network (GMEN) is a non-profit organization that aims to promote economic development by providing small businesses with funding and business training.
One Georgia Authority
One Georgia Authority understands the important role small businesses play in shaping the economic future of Georgia. Knowing this, One Georgia Authority creates opportunities by making funding loans and grants available to small business owners.
Small Business Access Partners
Small Business Access Partners works is a non-profit certified development company that works in partnership with banks to provide SBA 504 loans and other economic development loans to make capital available to small businesses. Programs that provide reasonable rates, lower down payments, and longer repayment terms, the SBAP have the solution for certain small business financing needs.
Advanced Technology Development Center
Advanced Technology Development Center is ranked as one of the world’s top technology incubators and belongs to the top 12 incubator that has changed the world by Forbes in 2013. ATDC’s primary goal is to launch and build technology businesses in the state of Georgia.
Georgia Centers of Innovation
Georgia Centers of Innovation focuses on providing small businesses with deep technical industry expertise, creating connections to markets and new business opportunities and allowing them to gain access to groundbreaking research and collaborations.
Startup Atlanta
Startup Atlanta non-profit startup that serves growth-focused entrepreneurs focused on scaling their business and connecting the local startup ecosystem. They help grow and strengthen business through different networks by hosting events, bringing startup and regional leaders together, support policies friendly to innovation and entrepreneurs and promote corporate involvement with the local ecosystem.
Roam
Roam is a collective, local community of innovators, pioneers and visionaries that create environments where they can focus, collaborate, learn and socialize. They are dedicated to the people on the move that need a better way to connect with others, work productively and grow their businesses meeting and gathering experience for the new workforce.