Thinking about starting a business in Latrobe, Pennsylvania? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Latrobe.
Are You Ready for the Challenges of Being an Entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you sure you want to start a business?
To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Latrobe. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
Latrobe, Pennsylvania Demographic Information
Latrobe has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Latrobe demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Latrobe.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1157 |
| 5-9 Employees |
489 |
| 10-19 Employees |
372 |
| 20-49 Employees |
213 |
| 50-99 Employees |
108 |
| 100-249 Employees |
48 |
| 250-499 Employees |
9 |
| 500-999 Employees |
9 |
| 1000+ Employees |
3 |
| All Latrobe Businesses |
2408 |
As a new Latrobe entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Latrobe 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 |
2 |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
2 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
8 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
2 |
| Beauty Salons |
14 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
6 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bottled Water Manufacturing |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Breweries |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
2 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Charter Bus Industry |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
6 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
19 |
| Commercial Bakeries |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
4 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
1 |
| Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
2 |
| Convenience Stores |
1 |
| Convention and Trade Show Organizers |
1 |
| Copper Foundries (except Die-Casting) |
1 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
8 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
4 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
7 |
| Dry Pasta Manufacturing |
1 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
3 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
6 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
7 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
6 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
2 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
2 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
20 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
3 |
| Furniture Stores |
4 |
| General Automotive Repair |
7 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
4 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
3 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
3 |
| Graphic Design Services |
2 |
| Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Hardware Stores |
3 |
| Home Centers |
4 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
3 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Industrial Mold Manufacturing |
1 |
| Industrial Pattern Manufacturing |
1 |
| Institutional Furniture Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
15 |
| Investigation Services |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
2 |
| Iron and Steel Mills |
4 |
| Iron Foundries |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
6 |
| Jewelry Stores |
1 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
9 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
18 |
| Machine Shops |
14 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
5 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Metal Heat Treating |
1 |
| Monetary Authorities-Central Bank |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
3 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
4 |
| News Dealers and Newsstands |
2 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonclay Refractory Manufacturing |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
5 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
13 |
| Offices of Dentists |
14 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
17 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
3 |
| Offices of Other Holding Companies |
1 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
5 |
| Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
3 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
7 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Powder Metallurgy Part Manufacturing |
1 |
| Precision Turned Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
1 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
8 |
| Retail Bakeries |
1 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Rooming and Boarding Houses |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
1 |
| Sawmills |
3 |
| Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation |
1 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
1 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
1 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
4 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
2 |
| Special Needs Transportation |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Steel Foundries (except Investment) |
1 |
| Support Activities for Coal Mining |
1 |
| Support Activities for Forestry |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
4 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Testing Laboratories |
5 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
3 |
| Used Car Dealers |
5 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
3 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
5 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
2 |
Should You Buy an Existing Latrobe 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 Latrobe.
If you are going to be 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.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Latrobe, it's critical that you ensure that no other Pennsylvania company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Latrobe, Pennsylvania
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will protect you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
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. As it turns out, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.
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 Nevada Incorporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, our information on Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Writing a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Presentations. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Pennsylvania.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
Successful business owners recognize that they don't know everything.
With your business being located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Pennsylvania universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also smart to see if there are any Latrobe networking organizations.
Never Give Up
As an entrepreneur in Latrobe, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Latrobe businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Latrobe, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Latrobe.
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