Starting a Business in Ardmore, Pennsylvania

Thinking about starting a business in Ardmore, Pennsylvania? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Ardmore.

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:

• Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Ardmore. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
• Peruse Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
• Have a candid conversation with friends and family. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

Ardmore, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

Ardmore has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for Ardmore demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Ardmore.

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	4220
5-9 Employees	1404
10-19 Employees	972
20-49 Employees	564
50-99 Employees	156
100-249 Employees	108
250-499 Employees	24
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Ardmore Businesses	7448

As a new Ardmore entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Ardmore 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	2
Ambulance Services	1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance	3
Architectural Services	7
Art Dealers	1
Automobile Driving Schools	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	2
Automotive Transmission Repair	2
Baked Goods Stores	1
Barber Shops	1
Beauty Salons	13
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	4
Book Publishers	1
Bowling Centers	1
Business Associations	1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores	1
Car Washes	3
Caterers	1
Child Day Care Services	2
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores	3
Civic and Social Organizations	3
Claims Adjusting	1
Clothing Accessories Stores	2
Commercial Lithographic Printing	4
Community Food Services	1
Computer and Software Stores	1
Computer Systems Design Services	4
Confectionery and Nut Stores	3
Convenience Stores	3
Convention and Trade Show Organizers	1
Curtain and Drapery Mills	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	6
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	8
Educational Support Services	2
Electrical Contractors	4
Elementary and Secondary Schools	5
Employment Placement Agencies	1
Engineering Services	6
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	1
Facilities Support Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	3
Fine Arts Schools	2
Finish Carpentry Contractors	2
Fish and Seafood Markets	3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	6
Floor Covering Stores	1
Flooring Contractors	1
Florists	2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair	1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets	1
Full-Service Restaurants	25
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	4
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	4
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	2
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Grantmaking Foundations	1
Graphic Design Services	3
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	3
Home Centers	1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers	2
Home Health Care Services	1
Home Health Equipment Rental	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	9
Interior Design Services	1
Investment Advice	4
Janitorial Services	3
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing	1
Jewelry Stores	7
Landscape Architectural Services	1
Landscaping Services	19
Limited-Service Restaurants	23
Limousine Service	1
Locksmiths	1
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores	2
Machine Shops	1
Mail-Order Houses	2
Marketing Consulting Services	7
Masonry Contractors	2
Meat Markets	1
Miscellaneous Intermediation	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	2
Motion Picture and Video Production	1
Motor Vehicle Towing	1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores	1
Nail Salons	4
New Car Dealers	4
Newspaper Publishers	1
Office Administrative Services	2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	8
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	12
Offices of Lawyers	8
Offices of Optometrists	2
Offices of Other Holding Companies	1
Offices of Podiatrists	4
One-Hour Photofinishing	1
Optical Goods Stores	2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	3
Parking Lots and Garages	2
Payroll Services	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	3
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	3
Political Organizations	1
Portfolio Management	3
Prepress Services	1
Public Relations Agencies	2
Residential Property Managers	4
Residential Remodelers	5
Retail Bakeries	2
Roofing Contractors	3
Savings Institutions	5
Securities Brokerage	2
Shoe Stores	5
Siding Contractors	1
Site Preparation Contractors	1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	4
Software Publishers	1
Sporting Goods Stores	5
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Tax Preparation Services	1
Testing Laboratories	1
Tire Dealers	1
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing	1
Travel Agencies	4
Used Car Dealers	1
Used Merchandise Stores	3
Veterinary Services	3
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	3
Window Treatment Stores	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	3
Women's Clothing Stores	13

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

As you drive around Ardmore, you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. Is franchising maybe a better way for you to start your business?

Our recommendation is that you look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as The Franchising Process. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include DocStaff Dental Placement and Head Over Heels. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Hotel and Motel Franchises and Kitchen Design Franchises.

Note on Ardmore Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Ardmore.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Pennsylvania.

Marketing Your New Company

To grow your Ardmore business, you need a solid marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Promoting an Online Business is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Ramping Up Sales

Being able to sell is fundamental to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Ardmore or are selling to customers throughout Pennsylvania, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Effective Sales Presentations offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Good entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Pennsylvania universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any Ardmore networking organizations.

What's Next?

You have a dream -- starting a business in Ardmore. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Ardmore businesses to be successful. 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 Ardmore, Pennsylvania

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Ardmore.

• Resources for Ardmore, Pennsylvania Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Ardmore entrepreneurs.
• Pennsylvania Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Pennsylvania.
• Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center - Pennsylvania SBDCs help aspiring entrepreneurs turn ideas into businesses, help small firms expand, and provide the information every business person needs to make critical decisions. There is no charge for their assistance and their free help can make the difference between business success and failure.
• Ardmore, Pennsylvania Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Ardmore, Pennsylvania newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Ardmore area.

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