Illinois Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Geneva, Illinois

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

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 Geneva. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Geneva, Illinois Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
22128
5-9 Employees
7380
10-19 Employees
5364
20-49 Employees
3204
50-99 Employees
1224
100-249 Employees
720
250-499 Employees
108
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
36
All Geneva Businesses
40164

As a new Geneva entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Geneva 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
1
Apprenticeship Training
1
Architectural Services
7
Art Dealers
1
Automatic Vending Machine Manufacturing
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
1
Baked Goods Stores
2
Beauty Salons
23
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
3
Building Inspection Services
3
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Caterers
2
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
7
Claims Adjusting
2
Clothing Accessories Stores
6
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Gravure Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Commercial Photography
2
Computer Systems Design Services
14
Computer Training
1
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
3
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
2
Couriers
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
2
Custom Computer Programming Services
8
Dental Laboratories
2
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Direct Mail Advertising
3
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
2
Educational Support Services
1
Electrical Contractors
6
Electronic Shopping
1
Employment Placement Agencies
2
Engineering Services
6
Environmental Consulting Services
3
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
10
Fine Arts Schools
3
Finish Carpentry Contractors
5
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
8
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
5
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
30
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
5
General Automotive Repair
8
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
18
Glass and Glazing Contractors
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
3
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
9
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Stores
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
3
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
2
Household Appliance Stores
3
Industrial Design Services
1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
18
Investment Advice
4
Janitorial Services
3
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing
1
Jewelry Stores
7
Land Subdivision
2
Landscape Architectural Services
2
Landscaping Services
7
Limited-Service Restaurants
28
Mail-Order Houses
3
Marketing Consulting Services
13
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
1
Men's Clothing Stores
3
Metal Stamping
3
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
6
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
New Car Dealers
1
New Housing Operative Builders
3
News Dealers and Newsstands
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
6
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
11
Offices of Chiropractors
8
Offices of Lawyers
38
Offices of Optometrists
3
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
3
Optical Goods Stores
2
Packaging and Labeling Services
3
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
9
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
4
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
3
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Portfolio Management
5
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Organizations
3
Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
2
Real Estate Investment Trusts
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Retail Bakeries
3
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
2
Roofing Contractors
2
Savings Institutions
2
Securities Brokerage
9
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Shoe Stores
8
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
10
Sporting Goods Stores
7
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Sports Teams and Clubs
1
Storage Battery Manufacturing
1
Tax Preparation Services
2
Telecommunications Resellers
2
Temporary Help Services
1
Testing Laboratories
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Tobacco Stores
1
Translation and Interpretation Services
2
Travel Agencies
2
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
21
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
25

Is Franchising a Better Option?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Geneva and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Franchisees Versus Licensees. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Swirl and L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Juice Bar Franchises / Smoothie Franchises and Pizza Franchises.

Note on Geneva Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Geneva.

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.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Geneva, it's very important that you make sure no Illinois company has already registered the company name you have selected.

Forming a Company in Geneva, Illinois

It's essential 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.

When forming a company, you will decide among many company types, such as 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. If you are starting a business in Illinois, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Illinois. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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 LLC Advantages. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Geneva, Illinois, our web page covering Incorporating in Illinois may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Illinois.

Marketing Your New Business

To grow your Geneva business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Advertising on Google is a good read to get your marketing thoughts flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Good business owners recognize that they need to continually improve.

With your business being located in Geneva, Illinois, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby Illinois universities, colleges and community colleges. Another way to keep up on your learning is to investigate Geneva networking organizations.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Geneva. 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.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Geneva and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Geneva, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Geneva, Illinois

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

More Startup Articles for Illinois Cities

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