Starting a Business in Bath, Pennsylvania

Are you starting a business in Bath, Pennsylvania? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Bath.

Do You Have What It Takes?

An entrepreneurial life is hard work, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Bath. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
• We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Have a candid conversation with friends and family. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

Bath, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	2565
5-9 Employees	795
10-19 Employees	480
20-49 Employees	195
50-99 Employees	150
100-249 Employees	45
250-499 Employees	15
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Bath Businesses	4245

As a new Bath entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bath 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	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	3
Automotive Transmission Repair	2
Barber Shops	1
Beauty Salons	3
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	3
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Cement Manufacturing	1
Child Day Care Services	3
Civic and Social Organizations	2
Commercial Bakeries	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Computer Systems Design Services	2
Convenience Stores	1
Couriers	1
Credit Unions	1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers	1
Direct Mail Advertising	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	6
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	2
Electrical Contractors	8
Emergency and Other Relief Services	1
Employment Placement Agencies	1
Engineering Services	2
Family Clothing Stores	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Floor Covering Stores	1
Florists	1
Food Service Contractors	2
Full-Service Restaurants	5
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
General Automotive Repair	4
General Freight Trucking, Local	3
General Warehousing and Storage	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	3
Hardware Stores	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	1
Home Health Care Services	1
Industrial Pattern Manufacturing	2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	1
Investigation Services	1
Janitorial Services	5
Landscaping Services	9
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	2
Limited-Service Restaurants	4
Machine Shops	2
Mail-Order Houses	1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers	1
Masonry Contractors	4
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
Motor Vehicle Towing	1
Motorcycle Dealers	1
New Car Dealers	1
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Chiropractors	3
Offices of Dentists	2
Offices of Lawyers	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Portfolio Management	1
Recreational Goods Rental	1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers	1
Residential Remodelers	3
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	1
Roofing Contractors	3
Savings Institutions	2
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Siding Contractors	3
Site Preparation Contractors	3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	1
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Steel Foundries (except Investment)	1
Testing Laboratories	1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers	1
Used Car Dealers	1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving	1
Vending Machine Operators	1
Veterinary Services	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	4
Zoos and Botanical Gardens	1

What About Franchising Opportunities?

Visit the business district of Bath and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. But is franchising the right option for you?

Most business experts recommend that you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising My Business. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Representative franchise opportunities include Pet Butler and Fatburger Corporation. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Juice Bar Franchises / Smoothie Franchises and Pizza Franchises.

Note on Bath Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Bath, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Picking a Company Name

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Bath, it's critical that you ensure that no other Pennsylvania company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Bath, Pennsylvania

It's very important that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Doing so will protect 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.

Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Pennsylvania, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Pennsylvania. In fact, 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 are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as C Corp Versus S Corp. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Bath, Pennsylvania, our information on Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.

Raising Capital for Your Business

Getting your Bath business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Getting a Small Business Loan.

For Bath entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Pennsylvania Angel Investors and our List of Pennsylvania Venture Capital Firms.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

The best business owners recognize that they don't know everything.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Bath, Pennsylvania, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Pennsylvania universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also smart to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Bath entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Now It's Up To You

As an entrepreneur in Bath, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Bath and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Bath 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 Bath, Pennsylvania

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

• Resources for Bath, Pennsylvania Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bath 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.
• Bath, Pennsylvania Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Bath, Pennsylvania newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Bath area.

More Business Startup Guides for Pennsylvania
Starting a Business in Aspinwall
Starting a Business in Beaver

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Pennsylvania