Contemplating starting a business in Lebanon, Indiana? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Lebanon.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.
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 Opening a Frozen Food Processors Business guide or our Opening a Snowblowers Service & Repair Business guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Lebanon. If Lebanon already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Study Lebanon demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Lebanon, Indiana Demographic Information
Lebanon has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Lebanon demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Lebanon.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
14168 |
| 5-9 Employees |
4452 |
| 10-19 Employees |
3948 |
| 20-49 Employees |
1764 |
| 50-99 Employees |
588 |
| 100-249 Employees |
462 |
| 250-499 Employees |
84 |
| 500-999 Employees |
42 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Lebanon Businesses |
25508 |
As a new Lebanon entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lebanon 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 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automobile Manufacturing |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
3 |
| Beauty Salons |
4 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Book Publishers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Business Associations |
2 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Car Washes |
3 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
9 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
8 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
2 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
1 |
| Couriers |
2 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
1 |
| Diet and Weight Reducing Centers |
1 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
6 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
3 |
| Educational Support Services |
2 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
3 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
3 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
1 |
| Facilities Support Services |
1 |
| Farm Product Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
1 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
2 |
| Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing |
1 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Framing Contractors |
3 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
18 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
1 |
| General Automotive Repair |
11 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
2 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
2 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
4 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
1 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
2 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
2 |
| Institutional Furniture Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
14 |
| Investment Advice |
2 |
| Janitorial Services |
6 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
14 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
17 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
5 |
| Meat Processed from Carcasses |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Mobile Food Services |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
4 |
| Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
4 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
2 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
5 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
7 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
1 |
| Offices of Dentists |
5 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
9 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
2 |
| Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing |
1 |
| Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
2 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
4 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
3 |
| Real Estate Credit |
1 |
| Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
13 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
2 |
| Securities Brokerage |
3 |
| Setup Paperboard Box Manufacturing |
1 |
| Siding Contractors |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
6 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
3 |
| Solid Waste Combustors and Incinerators |
1 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
4 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
1 |
| Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
3 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Used Car Dealers |
5 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
3 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
3 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
2 |
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.
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.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Lebanon, it's critical that you ensure that no other Indiana company is using the business name you want to use.
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Indiana.
Ramping Up Sales
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Lebanon 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.
Sales Prospecting is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge
The best entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Lebanon, Indiana, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Indiana universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Lebanon entrepreneurs.
Now It's Up To You
As an entrepreneur in Lebanon, 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.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Lebanon and throughout the United States . We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lebanon, Indiana
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Lebanon.
More Business Startup Guides for Indiana
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Starting a Business in Liberty
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Business Startup Guides for Indiana
