Thinking about starting a business in Chillicothe, Ohio? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Chillicothe.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Most new ventures 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.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Chillicothe. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. 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.
Chillicothe, Ohio Demographic Information
Chillicothe has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Chillicothe demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Chillicothe.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
8125 |
| 5-9 Employees |
3810 |
| 10-19 Employees |
2325 |
| 20-49 Employees |
1725 |
| 50-99 Employees |
675 |
| 100-249 Employees |
300 |
| 250-499 Employees |
30 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
60 |
| All Chillicothe Businesses |
17050 |
As a new Chillicothe entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Chillicothe 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 |
| Ambulance Services |
2 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automobile Driving Schools |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
2 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
10 |
| Beauty Salons |
11 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
| Book Stores |
3 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
2 |
| Car Washes |
3 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
2 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
2 |
| Child and Youth Services |
4 |
| Child Day Care Services |
7 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
11 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
3 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Computer Facilities Management Services |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
2 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
| Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
2 |
| Consumer Lending |
6 |
| Convenience Stores |
6 |
| Convention and Trade Show Organizers |
1 |
| Couriers |
3 |
| Credit Bureaus |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
4 |
| Curtain and Drapery Mills |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
3 |
| Diet and Weight Reducing Centers |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
2 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
11 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
3 |
| Electrical Contractors |
6 |
| Electronic Shopping |
4 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
3 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
3 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
2 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Family Planning Centers |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
7 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
4 |
| Florists |
4 |
| Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
32 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
3 |
| Furniture Stores |
5 |
| General Automotive Repair |
10 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
6 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
3 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
6 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
7 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
5 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
2 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
1 |
| Heavy Duty Truck Manufacturing |
1 |
| Historical Sites |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
2 |
| Home Centers |
4 |
| Home Health Care Services |
4 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
2 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
3 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
4 |
| Hydroelectric Power Generation |
2 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
29 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
9 |
| Jewelry Stores |
4 |
| Junior Colleges |
3 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
2 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
9 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
3 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
41 |
| Linen Supply |
1 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Logging |
3 |
| Machine Shops |
5 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
9 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
2 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
2 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
4 |
| Museums |
2 |
| Nail Salons |
3 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
5 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
5 |
| Office Administrative Services |
4 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Bank Holding Companies |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
7 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
8 |
| Offices of Dentists |
24 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
28 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
9 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
4 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
4 |
| Packing and Crating |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
3 |
| Paper (except Newsprint) Mills |
1 |
| Periodical Publishers |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
7 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
5 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
2 |
| Professional Organizations |
2 |
| Quick Printing |
2 |
| Radio Stations |
3 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
3 |
| Real Estate Credit |
5 |
| Residential Property Managers |
4 |
| Residential Remodelers |
20 |
| Retail Bakeries |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
3 |
| Sawmills |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
7 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
2 |
| Shoe Stores |
7 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
3 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
6 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Sports Teams and Clubs |
1 |
| Spring (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
4 |
| Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
9 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
2 |
| Tire Dealers |
6 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
4 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
2 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
3 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
4 |
| Veterinary Services |
4 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
6 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
3 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
2 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
1 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Chillicothe Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Ohio. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Chillicothe.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Having a business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Starting a business without a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Presentations. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Ohio.
Raising Capital for Your Venture
Getting your Chillicothe business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as 504 Loans.
For Chillicothe entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, you'll want to take a look at our List of Ohio Angel Investors and our List of Ohio Venture Capital Firms.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Company
To grow your Chillicothe business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Yellow Pages Advertising Advice discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Now It's Up To You
Most new Chillicothe businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Chillicothe 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 Chillicothe, Ohio
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Chillicothe.
- Resources for Chillicothe, Ohio Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Chillicothe 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.
- Chillicothe, Ohio Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Chillicothe, Ohio newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Chillicothe area.
- Chillicothe, Ohio Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Chillicothe, Ohio area radio stations.
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