Are you starting a business in Barberton, Ohio? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Barberton.
Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
Most new companies do not succeed, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Barberton. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
What Business Are You Starting?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Finding Your Niche in Life.
For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening an Irrigation Ditch Contractors Business guide or our Starting a Sewing Machines Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.
Always keep in mind that starting a business in Barberton has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Barberton than others. Study Barberton demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Barberton, Ohio Demographic Information
Barberton has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Barberton demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Barberton.
| Business Size | # of Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
2616 |
| 5-9 Employees |
1326 |
| 10-19 Employees |
756 |
| 20-49 Employees |
502 |
| 50-99 Employees |
126 |
| 100-249 Employees |
96 |
| 250-499 Employees |
30 |
| 500-999 Employees |
12 |
| 1000+ Employees |
18 |
| All Barberton Businesses |
5482 |
As a new Barberton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Barberton 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 |
| Abrasive Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting) |
2 |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
1 |
| Automobile Driving Schools |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
10 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
16 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
6 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
2 |
| Building Inspection Services |
1 |
| Business Associations |
2 |
| Car Washes |
3 |
| Caterers |
2 |
| Child and Youth Services |
2 |
| Child Day Care Services |
6 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
12 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
5 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
3 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
4 |
| Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
1 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
4 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Curtain and Drapery Mills |
3 |
| Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins |
3 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
3 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Direct Mail Advertising |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
13 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
4 |
| Electrical Contractors |
14 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
3 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Family Planning Centers |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
2 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
4 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
5 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
2 |
| Flooring Contractors |
3 |
| Florists |
2 |
| Fluid Milk Manufacturing |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
3 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
22 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
4 |
| Furniture Stores |
1 |
| General Automotive Repair |
15 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
2 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
3 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
2 |
| Graphic Design Services |
2 |
| Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
3 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
2 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Industrial Mold Manufacturing |
2 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
18 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
6 |
| Jewelry Stores |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
17 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
31 |
| Linen Supply |
1 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
2 |
| Machine Shops |
18 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
9 |
| Meat Markets |
3 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Metal Window and Door Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Nail Salons |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
4 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
3 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
3 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
2 |
| Offices of Dentists |
13 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
10 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
4 |
| Offices of Other Holding Companies |
1 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
8 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
8 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
4 |
| Plate Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Precision Turned Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
1 |
| Racetracks |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
2 |
| Recreational Goods Rental |
1 |
| Remediation Services |
2 |
| Residential Property Managers |
2 |
| Residential Remodelers |
8 |
| Retail Bakeries |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
2 |
| Sawmills |
2 |
| Securities Brokerage |
2 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
1 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
2 |
| Siding Contractors |
3 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
9 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
6 |
| Software Publishers |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
2 |
| Steel Foundries (except Investment) |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
4 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
| Telecommunications Resellers |
1 |
| Telemarketing Bureaus |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
3 |
| Testing Laboratories |
3 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
1 |
| Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
5 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
5 |
| Tobacco Stores |
2 |
| Tradebinding and Related Work |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
3 |
| Used Car Dealers |
9 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
4 |
| Veterinary Services |
4 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
3 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
2 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
2 |
What About Buying an Existing Barberton Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Ohio. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Barberton.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.
Company Formation in Barberton, Ohio
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporation is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Ohio, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Ohio. As it turns out, you are allowed to incorporate in the state of your choosing. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Getting an EIN. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Barberton, Ohio, our information on Incorporating in Ohio may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Ohio.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Barberton business is a difficult chore. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Only Idiots Send Venture Capitalists Business Plans.
For Barberton entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, browse our List of Ohio Angel Investors and our List of Ohio Venture Capital Firms.
What's Next?
Most new Barberton businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Barberton and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Barberton 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 Barberton, Ohio
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Barberton.
- Resources for Barberton, Ohio Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Barberton entrepreneurs.
- Ohio Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Ohio.
- Ohio Small Business Development Center - Whether you're starting your business, expanding your business, or just looking to stay in business, the Small Business Development Centers of Ohio (SBDCs of Ohio) can help with professional guidance by connecting you with research, financing sources, and training opportunities.
- Barberton, Ohio Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Barberton, Ohio newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Barberton area.
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