Starting a Business
Careful planning is fundamental to success. The Small Business Planner includes information and resources that will help you at any stage of the business life cycle. Let the SBA show you how to manage your business from start to finish.
In support of South Carolina businesses, the SC Department of Commerce provides online resources to small businesses and entrepreneurs interested in turning their business concepts into a reality. From new market information and business financing options to workforce development and regulatory information, the SC Department of Commerce offers a variety of tools designed in response to feedback from small business owners and entrepreneurs from across the state.
From deciding what kind of business you should start to dealing with expansion and management problems, this 16 session course helps you at whatever point you may be in starting and running your own business. The course covers the 16 important topics for anyone starting a business. Most people fail in business because they make avoidable mistakes. The course teaches you what those mistakes are and how to avoid them. An excellent resource for entrepreneurs, My Own Business, provides program outlines, supplementary sound bites from real business owners and printable business plans and downloadable templates.
South Carolina Business One Stop or SCBOS is the official South Carolina business web portal providing a central location where business owners can learn more about doing business in South Carolina. It enables anyone starting a new business to register the business, apply for a retail license, and more. From the convenience of your computer at anytime, 24 hours a day – 7 days a week, you can take care of your important state filings, and pay for multiple filings and/or taxes with one credit, debit, or EFW payment. Each section on SCBOS is designed to support all phases of business life cycle from start-up through expansion.
There are different rules and requirements for doing or opening a business in Kershaw County, depending on the location of your business and/or your services.
Business licenses are only required when doing business in Bethune, Camden and Elgin city/town limits. Kershaw County does not require a business license. To learn more about each area's requirements, click on the links below:
- Bethune - License Application
- Camden - Business License Ordinance (includes rates) and License Application
- Elgin - License Application
In 2022, South Carolina Act 176 was implemented to help make it easier for businesses to renew their business licenses. The Municipal Association of South Carolina put together a Business License Handbook to help explain the law and its requirements. One of the benefits of this new law is to streamline business license renewals through the Local Business License Renewal Center.