Thinking about starting a business in Elizabethtown, Kentucky? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Elizabethtown.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Finding Your Niche in Life.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Beauty Supplies & Equipment Repair Business guide or our Starting a Private Tennis Clubs Business guide.
Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Elizabethtown. Some businesses will do better in Elizabethtown than others. Study Elizabethtown demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Elizabethtown, Kentucky Demographic Information
Elizabethtown has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Elizabethtown demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Elizabethtown.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
9065 |
| 5-9 Employees |
4860 |
| 10-19 Employees |
3540 |
| 20-49 Employees |
2160 |
| 50-99 Employees |
720 |
| 100-249 Employees |
405 |
| 250-499 Employees |
60 |
| 500-999 Employees |
45 |
| 1000+ Employees |
45 |
| All Elizabethtown Businesses |
20900 |
As a new Elizabethtown entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Elizabethtown 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 |
|
Adhesive Manufacturing |
2 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
2 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
5 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
9 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
|
Ball and Roller Bearing Manufacturing |
2 |
| Beauty Salons |
9 |
| Blood and Organ Banks |
1 |
| Boat Building |
1 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
5 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills |
1 |
|
Building Inspection Services |
2 |
| Business Associations |
6 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
3 |
| Car Washes |
2 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
3 |
| Caterers |
2 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
3 |
|
Charter Bus Industry |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
3 |
| Child Day Care Services |
19 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
4 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
4 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Collection Agencies |
4 |
|
Commercial Flexographic Printing |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Concrete Pipe Manufacturing |
1 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
1 |
| Construction Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
|
Consumer Lending |
9 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
1 |
| Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing |
1 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
2 |
| Couriers |
2 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
2 |
|
Dental Laboratories |
2 |
| Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
2 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
1 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
2 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
4 |
|
Electrical Contractors |
12 |
| Electronic Shopping |
2 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
2 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
2 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
4 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
11 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
2 |
|
Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
7 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
6 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
4 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
3 |
|
Freight Transportation Arrangement |
2 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
30 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
3 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
7 |
| General Automotive Repair |
12 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
2 |
|
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
3 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
7 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
2 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing |
1 |
|
Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
4 |
| Home Centers |
2 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
3 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
3 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
2 |
| Industrial Building Construction |
1 |
|
Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Industrial Mold Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
19 |
| Internet Publishing and Broadcasting |
1 |
| Internet Service Providers |
2 |
| Investment Advice |
2 |
| Janitorial Services |
8 |
| Jewelry Stores |
11 |
|
Kidney Dialysis Centers |
2 |
| Land Subdivision |
2 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
6 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
44 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
3 |
|
Machine Shops |
4 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
7 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
6 |
| Media Representatives |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Metal Heat Treating |
1 |
|
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
2 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
3 |
| Museums |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
14 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
8 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
2 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
1 |
|
Nursing Care Facilities |
4 |
| Office Administrative Services |
4 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
4 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
9 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
9 |
| Offices of Dentists |
27 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
27 |
|
Offices of Optometrists |
5 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
5 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
4 |
| Packaging and Labeling Services |
1 |
| Packing and Crating |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
4 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
3 |
|
Passenger Car Rental |
2 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
8 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
6 |
| Political Organizations |
2 |
|
Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Printing Ink Manufacturing |
1 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Professional Organizations |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
4 |
| Real Estate Credit |
8 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
1 |
|
Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
4 |
| Residential Remodelers |
11 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
4 |
| Securities Brokerage |
8 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
|
Shoe Stores |
11 |
| Siding Contractors |
2 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
6 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
6 |
| Soft Drink Manufacturing |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
3 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
7 |
|
Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
3 |
| Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
10 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
9 |
|
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
2 |
| Tobacco Stores |
4 |
| Travel Agencies |
4 |
| Truss Manufacturing |
2 |
| Used Car Dealers |
11 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
3 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
11 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
|
Veterinary Services |
2 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
5 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
2 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
5 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
|
Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
5 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
9 |
| Wood Office Furniture Manufacturing |
1 |
Should You Buy an Existing Elizabethtown Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Kentucky. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Elizabethtown.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Naming the Business
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Elizabethtown, it's critical that you ensure that no Kentucky company has already registered the company name you have selected.
Building Up Your Sales
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Elizabethtown business, you need to focus on sales.
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.
Anticipating Prospect Responses is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge
Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.
Given that you are starting a business in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby Kentucky universities, colleges and community colleges. Another way to keep up on your learning is to investigate networking groups or organizations in which Elizabethtown entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in Elizabethtown, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Elizabethtown and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Elizabethtown, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Elizabethtown.
- Resources for Elizabethtown, Kentucky Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Elizabethtown entrepreneurs.
- Kentucky Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Kentucky.
- Kentucky Small Business Development Center - The Kentucky Small Business Development Center (KSBDC) has been assisting Kentucky small business community for more than 25 years. KSBDC is co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and is administered by the University of Kentucky in partnership with regional universities, community and private colleges, and the private sector.
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Elizabethtown, Kentucky newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Elizabethtown area.
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Elizabethtown, Kentucky area radio stations.
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky Payroll Services - This list includes Elizabethtown, Kentucky payroll services, national payroll services for Elizabethtown, and helpful information on choosing a Elizabethtown payroll service.
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, such as business brokers in Elizabethtown and other helpful information on how to buy a Elizabethtown business.
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