Are you starting a business in Danville, Pennsylvania? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Danville.
Danville, Pennsylvania Demographic Information
Danville has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Danville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Danville.
| Business Size | # of Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
7416 |
| 5-9 Employees |
2700 |
| 10-19 Employees |
1908 |
| 20-49 Employees |
1404 |
| 50-99 Employees |
432 |
| 100-249 Employees |
216 |
| 250-499 Employees |
144 |
| 500-999 Employees |
180 |
| 1000+ Employees |
36 |
| All Danville Businesses |
14436 |
As a new Danville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Danville 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 |
| Ambulance Services |
3 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
3 |
| Beauty Salons |
5 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
5 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
7 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Computer Facilities Management Services |
2 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
4 |
| Convenience Stores |
2 |
| Credit Unions |
3 |
| Curtain and Drapery Mills |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
3 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
2 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
1 |
| Fabric Coating Mills |
2 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
5 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
1 |
| Florists |
1 |
| Flour Milling |
1 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
12 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
1 |
| General Automotive Repair |
6 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
2 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
3 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| HMO Medical Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
5 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Institutional Furniture Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
9 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
2 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
4 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
16 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
1 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
2 |
| Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing |
1 |
| Musical Groups and Artists |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
3 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
3 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
1 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
1 |
| Offices of Dentists |
5 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
4 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Payroll Services |
9 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
2 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
3 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
1 |
| Plate Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
1 |
| Reinsurance Carriers |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
3 |
| Retail Bakeries |
2 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
2 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
4 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Solid Waste Landfill |
1 |
| Sound Recording Studios |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
2 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
1 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
1 |
| Truck Trailer Manufacturing |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
2 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
4 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
4 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
3 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Danville Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Pennsylvania. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Danville.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.
Naming the Company
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.
Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.
On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Danville, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another Pennsylvania business.
The Role of the Business Plan
Having a business plan is vital 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. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Mistakes. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Pennsylvania.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Raising money to fund your new Danville business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
Take advantage of our many articles on finding startup capital, such as 504 Loans.
For Danville entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Pennsylvania Angel Investors and our List of Pennsylvania Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Business
To rise above the crowd in Danville and build your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your successs.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Marketing Versus Sales is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
Successful business owners recognize that they don't know everything.
Given that you are starting a business in Danville, Pennsylvania, you should get information on some of the many programs available at nearby Pennsylvania universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any Danville networking organizations.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Danville. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Danville businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Danville 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 Danville, Pennsylvania
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Danville.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Pennsylvania
Starting a Business in Cranberry
Starting a Business in Delta
Browse All
Business Startup Guides for Pennsylvania