Frostspring Business Loans, a small-business funding broker in Dothan, Alabama, is listed at 161 S St Andrews St in Houston County, AL. The county counted 2,859 employer establishments in 2023 and 9,003 businesses without employees in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau). Below: employer sizes, ZIP 36301 sectors, self-employment, permits and local records.
| Office address | 161 S St Andrews St, ZIP 36301, Houston County, AL |
|---|---|
| Employer establishments | Houston County, AL total: 2,859 (2023, Census CBP) |
| Fewer than five employees | 1,316 of them, 46.0% |
| Businesses without employees | 9,003 owner-only firms (2024, Census NES) |
| ZIP 36301 employers | 948 payroll employers (2023, Census ZBP) |
One City, Three Counties
The office address, 161 S St Andrews St, Dothan, AL 36301, sits in Houston County, Alabama. Dothan itself is larger than that: the city extends into Dale County and Henry County as well (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 FIPS place-by-county codes). That matters for records, because the county on a business's paperwork follows its address, not the city name.
It also matters for statistics. Houston County figures describe the county, not the city, so this page labels each number by the area it actually covers. Postal ZIPs cut across city limits too: Dothan city takes in parts of ZIPs 36303, 36301 and 36305, and the city covers only 31.0 percent of ZIP 36301's land (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file).
Houston County, AL Employers by Size
| Employees | Establishments | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 5 | 1,316 | 46.0% |
| 5 to 9 | 611 | 21.4% |
| 10 to 19 | 438 | 15.3% |
| 20 to 49 | 339 | 11.9% |
| 50 or more | 155 | 5.4% |
| Total | 2,859 | 100% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. The 1,316 smallest employers are the businesses for which a single late receivable or a broken machine can decide the month. Together, the county's employers had 44,694 employees and $2.11 billion in annual payroll.
ZIP 36301 Around St Andrews Street
ZIP 36301, which includes the office, had 948 employer establishments with 14,216 employees in 2023, and 45.8 percent of those employers had fewer than five people (U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023).
| Sector | Establishments | Under 5 employees |
|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 183 | 41.5% |
| Health care and social assistance | 135 | 37.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 110 | 18.2% |
| Other services | 108 | 61.1% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 78 | 57.7% |
| Construction | 69 | 58.0% |
ZIP figures describe the postal area, which reaches beyond the city limits; they are not counts for Dothan, AL.
Self-Employed Residents
In Dothan city, 10.1 percent (+/- 0.9) of employed residents were self-employed; across Houston County, 10.7 percent (+/- 0.8); statewide, 9.1 percent (+/- 0.2) (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates). The county's share is higher than Alabama's even allowing for the margins of error. Separately, 9,003 county businesses had no paid staff in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024).
Payroll by Sector in Houston County, AL
Retail had the most employer establishments in Houston County in 2023, 543, but health care and social assistance had by far the largest payroll, $603.4 million across 355 establishments. Ambulatory practices alone, 263 establishments, paid $300.8 million (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). The sector pages take up restaurants and medical and dental practices.
Residential Permits in Houston County, AL
Builders in the county were authorized to start 403 new privately owned housing units in 2023, 463 in 2024 and 470 in 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, county annual files). The figures count homes, not commercial projects, but they show steady residential building work for the county's 211 construction employers (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023).
Buying a Business or a Building
Owners looking at a Dothan, AL business for sale often ask how to fund it. Buying an operating business with a track record is usually a term loan conversation. Commercial property purchases are real estate lending, outside the six structures Frostspring covers, though a fit-out of a leased space is not; the full comparison shows which structure fits which purchase.
What the Numbers Mean for a Request
Partners do not decide on county statistics; they look at your own deposits, debts and plans. The figures help explain why short gaps are common here: when nearly half of employers are this small, working capital for payroll and equipment financing for a single machine come up again and again.
City Records and Local Contacts
The City of Dothan's official website is dothan.org. For the business license questions owners search most, including renewal, see the Dothan, AL business license guide.
For the chamber of commerce and free advising, the Alabama Wiregrass directory lists organizations to contact directly.
Reaching Frostspring
About Frostspring explains the broker's role, the contact page has the phone and address, and nearby towns we cover lists communities in Dale and Henry counties.
Dothan, AL sectors our partners fund
Frostspring Business Loans works with Dothan, AL businesses in four sectors our partners have confirmed: contractors and construction trades, restaurants and food service, medical and dental practices and retailers and wholesalers that carry stock. Being in one of them does not decide the outcome; the partner does.
Paperwork partners commonly ask for
- Business checking statements covering roughly the last quarter or two
- Business and personal tax returns for the latest year
- Government-issued ID for each owner
- Formation documents and your EIN
- Details of any loans, leases or advances the business already carries
- For equipment, the seller's quote with make, model and price
No two partners ask for exactly the same file, so use this as a checklist rather than a rule.
From first call to a partner's decision
- Reach us at (334) 256-0679 or through the contact form. When we call back, the first questions are simple: what the funding is for, how long the business has operated and its rough revenue.
- You hear which options match the need and what a partner will likely want to review. We submit nothing without your approval.
- After you give the go-ahead, we share the request with suitable lending partners, and each one decides on its own.
- Any offer comes from the partner. Read the total cost, the payment schedule and the terms before deciding; turning it down is always an option.
Frostspring Business Loans is based at 161 S St Andrews St, Dothan, AL 36301.
By Frostspring Business Loans · Updated