Are you starting a business in Anderson, Indiana? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Anderson.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
Being an entrepreneur is hard work, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure you want to start a business?
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Anderson. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Anderson, Indiana Demographic Information
Anderson has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Anderson demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Anderson.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
18522 |
| 5-9 Employees |
8253 |
| 10-19 Employees |
5565 |
| 20-49 Employees |
3486 |
| 50-99 Employees |
1365 |
| 100-249 Employees |
546 |
| 250-499 Employees |
63 |
| 500-999 Employees |
63 |
| 1000+ Employees |
63 |
| All Anderson Businesses |
37926 |
As a new Anderson entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Anderson 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.
| Business Type |
# of
Businesses |
| Advertising Agencies |
4 |
| Air Traffic Control |
1 |
| Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting) |
1 |
| Ambulance Services |
4 |
| Amusement Arcades |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
2 |
| Apprenticeship Training |
2 |
| Architectural Services |
4 |
| Automobile Driving Schools |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
3 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
4 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
15 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
2 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
3 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
15 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
20 |
| Blood and Organ Banks |
3 |
| Boat Dealers |
2 |
| Book Publishers |
2 |
| Book Stores |
3 |
| Bowling Centers |
3 |
| Building Inspection Services |
2 |
| Burial Casket Manufacturing |
1 |
| Business Associations |
2 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
2 |
| Cafeterias |
3 |
| Car Washes |
7 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
3 |
| Caterers |
2 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
2 |
| Child and Youth Services |
5 |
| Child Day Care Services |
25 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
19 |
| Claims Adjusting |
1 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
2 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
3 |
| Collection Agencies |
4 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
5 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Computer Training |
1 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
2 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
3 |
| Consumer Lending |
6 |
| Convention and Visitors Bureaus |
1 |
| Copper Foundries (except Die-Casting) |
1 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
2 |
| Couriers |
4 |
| Court Reporting and Stenotype Services |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
8 |
| Curtain and Drapery Mills |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
4 |
| Diet and Weight Reducing Centers |
3 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
3 |
| Discount Department Stores |
4 |
| Drafting Services |
2 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
18 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
3 |
| Electrical Contractors |
11 |
| Electronic Shopping |
3 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
4 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
2 |
| Engineering Services |
9 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
2 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
5 |
| Facilities Support Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Family Planning Centers |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
4 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
4 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
10 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
4 |
| Flooring Contractors |
3 |
| Florists |
6 |
| Fluid Milk Manufacturing |
1 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
2 |
| Food Service Contractors |
3 |
| Formal Wear and Costume Rental |
2 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
57 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
5 |
| Furniture Stores |
6 |
| General Automotive Repair |
20 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
3 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
2 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
11 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
3 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
3 |
| Graphic Design Services |
2 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
3 |
| Home Centers |
3 |
| Home Health Care Services |
6 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
5 |
| Industrial Design Services |
2 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
41 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Investigation Services |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
3 |
| Janitorial Services |
12 |
| Jewelry Stores |
8 |
| Junior Colleges |
1 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
2 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
19 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
63 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
4 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
2 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
3 |
| Masonry Contractors |
4 |
| Materials Recovery Facilities |
1 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
10 |
| Motor and Generator Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Museums |
2 |
| Music Publishers |
1 |
| Musical Groups and Artists |
4 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
4 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
6 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
2 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
2 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
6 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
18 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
10 |
| Offices of Dentists |
40 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
53 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
10 |
| Offices of Other Holding Companies |
3 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
4 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
3 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
5 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
4 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
3 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
8 |
| Paper Industry Machinery Manufacturing |
2 |
| Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
5 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
13 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
4 |
| Political Organizations |
2 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
1 |
| Professional Organizations |
2 |
| Public Relations Agencies |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
3 |
| Racetracks |
2 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
9 |
| Real Estate Investment Trusts |
1 |
| Recreational Goods Rental |
1 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
8 |
| Residential Remodelers |
17 |
| Retail Bakeries |
1 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
2 |
| Roofing Contractors |
5 |
| Savings Institutions |
1 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
3 |
| Securities Brokerage |
7 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
2 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
7 |
| Siding Contractors |
4 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
12 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
8 |
| Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
2 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
8 |
| Spring (Light Gauge) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
11 |
| Temporary Help Services |
4 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
7 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
4 |
| Tobacco Stores |
4 |
| Travel Agencies |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
13 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
6 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
9 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
3 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
5 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
5 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
4 |
Should You Franchise?
Examine a list of Anderson businesses and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Evaluating Franchise Opportunities. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.
Representative franchise opportunities include Outdoor Lighting Perspectives and America's Best Inns & Suites. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Golf Franchises and Landscaping Franchises.
Note on Anderson Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Anderson.
Naming the Business
A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.
Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Anderson, it's critical that you ensure that your company name has not already been claimed by another Indiana business.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Creating a business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan
If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Expert Advice on Business Plans. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Indiana.
Marketing Your New Venture
Whether your goal is to attract Anderson customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Advertising Campaigns is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge
The best business owners recognize that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Anderson, Indiana, you should check out some of the many programs available at nearby Indiana universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Anderson entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Anderson, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Anderson businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Anderson entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Anderson, Indiana
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Anderson.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Indiana
Starting a Business in Alexandria
Starting a Business in Angola
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Business Startup Guides for Indiana
