Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in McKeesport, Pennsylvania

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

McKeesport, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1454
5-9 Employees
570
10-19 Employees
366
20-49 Employees
207
50-99 Employees
75
100-249 Employees
36
250-499 Employees
3
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
3
All McKeesport Businesses
2714

As a new McKeesport entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in McKeesport 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
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Barber Shops
3
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
6
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Book Stores
3
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
2
Cafeterias
1
Car Washes
3
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
2
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
8
Civic and Social Organizations
16
Clay Refractory Manufacturing
1
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
3
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
2
Consumer Lending
2
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
6
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
2
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
24
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
13
Electronic Shopping
4
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Floor Covering Stores
2
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
4
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
4
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
8
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
General Automotive Repair
18
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Hardware Stores
1
Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
3
Home Centers
1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
2
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
7
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
15
Janitorial Services
10
Jewelry Stores
1
Kidney Dialysis Centers
2
Landscaping Services
12
Limited-Service Restaurants
23
Limousine Service
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Machine Shops
1
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
7
Medical Laboratories
2
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Museums
1
Nail Salons
2
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
6
Office Administrative Services
2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
11
Offices of Lawyers
18
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
Optical Goods Stores
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Parking Lots and Garages
1
Passenger Car Rental
2
Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
12
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Professional Organizations
1
Radio Stations
1
Real Estate Credit
5
Repossession Services
1
Residential Remodelers
12
Retail Bakeries
2
Roofing Contractors
2
Sales Financing
1
Savings Institutions
3
School and Employee Bus Transportation
2
Securities Brokerage
2
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Shoe Stores
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
3
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sound Recording Studios
1
Special Needs Transportation
1
Sporting Goods Stores
4
Tax Preparation Services
2
Temporary Help Services
3
Testing Laboratories
1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
3
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
5
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
3
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
4
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
1

What About Buying an Existing McKeesport Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Pennsylvania. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in McKeesport.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Company Formation in McKeesport, Pennsylvania

It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.

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

Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Pennsylvania, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Pennsylvania. As it turns out, you can incorporate wherever you want. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Incorporating Online. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, our web page covering Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.

Letting the World Know You Exist

To grow your McKeesport business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Newspaper Advertising Costs discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Building Up Your Sales

Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new McKeesport business to do well.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Hiring Good Sales People offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

The best entrepreneurs know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

With your business being located in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, you should investigate some of the learning programs at local Pennsylvania educational institutions. You should also check if there are any McKeesport networking organizations.

Moving Forward

Most new McKeesport 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 McKeesport and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in McKeesport, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in McKeesport, Pennsylvania

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

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