Thinking about starting a business in Lehigh Acres, Florida? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Lehigh Acres.
Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?
Most new businesses fail, in part because the founder did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Lehigh Acres. 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.
Lehigh Acres, Florida Demographic Information
Lehigh Acres has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Lehigh Acres demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Lehigh Acres.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1454 |
| 5-9 Employees |
312 |
| 10-19 Employees |
201 |
| 20-49 Employees |
90 |
| 50-99 Employees |
33 |
| 100-249 Employees |
15 |
| 250-499 Employees |
6 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Lehigh Acres Businesses |
2111 |
As a new Lehigh Acres entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lehigh Acres 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 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
5 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
13 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
|
Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
5 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
7 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
|
Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
1 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
1 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
2 |
|
Drafting Services |
3 |
| Drilling Oil and Gas Wells |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
1 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
9 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
18 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
5 |
|
Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
5 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
13 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
1 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
|
Flooring Contractors |
10 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
3 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
17 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
3 |
|
General Automotive Repair |
11 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
7 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
2 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
2 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
3 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
|
Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Hazardous Waste Collection |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
6 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
2 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
12 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
|
Investigation Services |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
19 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
2 |
| Land Subdivision |
5 |
| Landscaping Services |
30 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
11 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
1 |
|
Machine Shops |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
6 |
| Medical Laboratories |
2 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
3 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
2 |
| New Car Dealers |
2 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
2 |
|
Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Administrative Services |
3 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
3 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
2 |
| Offices of Dentists |
3 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
2 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
1 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
2 |
|
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Packaging and Labeling Services |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
10 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
4 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
4 |
|
Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
2 |
| Residential Property Managers |
5 |
|
Residential Remodelers |
8 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
2 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
2 |
| Sewage Treatment Facilities |
1 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
|
Siding Contractors |
6 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
7 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
2 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
3 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
3 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
7 |
|
Tire Dealers |
1 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
4 |
| Used Car Dealers |
1 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
3 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
5 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
|
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
3 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
What About Buying an Existing Lehigh Acres Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Florida. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Lehigh Acres.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Getting your Lehigh Acres business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.
For Lehigh Acres entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Florida Angel Investors and our List of Florida Venture Capital Firms.
The Art of Selling
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Lehigh Acres business to do well.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Effective Sales Presentations is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Lehigh Acres, Florida, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Florida universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Lehigh Acres networking organizations.
Never Give Up
Most new Lehigh Acres businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Lehigh Acres and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Lehigh Acres, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lehigh Acres, Florida
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Lehigh Acres.
- Resources for Lehigh Acres, Florida Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Lehigh Acres entrepreneurs.
- Florida Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Florida.
- Florida Small Business Development Center - The Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDCN) is a statewide economic development partnership between higher education and other stakeholder organizations dedicated to providing entrepreneurs and established businesses with the assistance needed to start, grow and succeed, contributing to the Florida economy.
- Lehigh Acres, Florida Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Lehigh Acres, Florida newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Lehigh Acres area.
- Lehigh Acres, Florida Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Lehigh Acres, Florida area radio stations.
- Lehigh Acres, Florida Payroll Services - This list includes Lehigh Acres, Florida payroll services, national payroll services for Lehigh Acres, and helpful information on choosing a Lehigh Acres payroll service.
- Lehigh Acres, Florida Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Lehigh Acres, Florida, such as business brokers in Lehigh Acres and other helpful information on how to buy a Lehigh Acres business.
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