Start a Business in Hawley, Pennsylvania

Thinking about starting a business in Hawley, Pennsylvania? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Hawley.

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Most new companies fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

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:

• Speak with other entrepreneurs in Hawley. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
• You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
• Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

What Business to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Free Business Ideas.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting an Orthopedic Shoes Repair Business guide or our Opening an Electronic Commerce Business guide.

Always keep in mind that your new business will be in Hawley. Some businesses will do better in Hawley than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Hawley demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Hawley, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1914
5-9 Employees	477
10-19 Employees	216
20-49 Employees	162
50-99 Employees	18
100-249 Employees	18
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	9
1000+ Employees	0
All Hawley Businesses	2814

As a new Hawley entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hawley 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
Amusement Arcades	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	1
Baked Goods Stores	1
Beauty Salons	8
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	3
Boat Dealers	1
Bowling Centers	1
Business Associations	2
Caterers	1
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Child and Youth Services	1
Child Day Care Services	3
Civic and Social Organizations	2
Clothing Accessories Stores	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Commercial Screen Printing	1
Computer and Software Stores	1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining	2
Convenience Stores	1
Convention and Visitors Bureaus	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	2
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	7
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Floor Covering Stores	1
Florists	1
Framing Contractors	1
Full-Service Restaurants	14
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	6
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
General Rental Centers	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Graphic Design Services	1
Hardware Stores	1
Heating Oil Dealers	3
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	5
Investment Advice	1
Jewelry Stores	1
Land Subdivision	1
Landscaping Services	8
Libraries and Archives	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	8
Logging	2
Marinas	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Masonry Contractors	4
Media Representatives	1
Motion Picture and Video Production	2
Motor Vehicle Towing	1
New Housing Operative Builders	2
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	2
Offices of Chiropractors	5
Offices of Dentists	6
Offices of Lawyers	7
Offices of Optometrists	2
Offices of Podiatrists	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas	1
Quick Printing	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	1
Real Estate Credit	3
Residential Property Managers	2
Residential Remodelers	5
Satellite Telecommunications	1
Savings Institutions	1
School and Employee Bus Transportation	5
Siding Contractors	1
Site Preparation Contractors	7
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	3
Special Needs Transportation	1
Sporting Goods Stores	2
Tobacco Stores	1
Used Car Dealers	1
Vending Machine Operators	1
Veterinary Services	2
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1

Is Buying an Existing Hawley Business a Good Strategy?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Pennsylvania. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Hawley.

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Forming a Company in Hawley, Pennsylvania

A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.

When forming a company, you will choose from many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating 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 Pennsylvania, you don't necessarily have 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. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Dissolving a Corporation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Hawley, Pennsylvania, our web page covering Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Writing a business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Expert Advice on Business Plans. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Pennsylvania.

Raising Money for Your Company

Raising money to fund your new Hawley business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Microlending as a Small Business Funding Source.

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

What's Next?

Most new Hawley businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Hawley and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Hawley, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Hawley, Pennsylvania

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

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

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