Indiana Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Muncie, Indiana

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

Before you get too far along in the process, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Muncie. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • You should read Starting a Company. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
  • Talk it over with a close friend or partner. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

What Business to Start

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. We recommend that you read 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 How to Start a Backflow Device Installation, Testing, & Service Business guide or our How to Start a Disc Rolling Services Business guide.

Remember that your new business will be in Muncie. Some businesses will do better in Muncie than others. Make sure you fully understand Muncie demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Muncie, Indiana Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
5728
5-9 Employees
3156
10-19 Employees
2028
20-49 Employees
1440
50-99 Employees
516
100-249 Employees
282
250-499 Employees
42
500-999 Employees
24
1000+ Employees
12
All Muncie Businesses
13228

As a new Muncie entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Muncie 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
Aluminum Die-Casting Foundries
1
Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting)
1
Amusement Arcades
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
2
Apprenticeship Training
1
Architectural Services
9
Armored Car Services
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
4
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
5
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
15
Automotive Transmission Repair
3
Baked Goods Stores
2
Barber Shops
2
Beauty Salons
26
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Boat Building
1
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
8
Bowling Centers
2
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
6
Cafeterias
2
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Car Washes
6
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
5
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
2
Charter Bus Industry
2
Child Day Care Services
28
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
2
Civic and Social Organizations
18
Claims Adjusting
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
4
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
6
Collection Agencies
4
Commercial Lithographic Printing
5
Community Food Services
3
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Confectionery and Nut Stores
2
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
2
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
2
Convenience Stores
7
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Copper Foundries (except Die-Casting)
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
3
Couriers
2
Credit Unions
14
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
3
Dance Companies
1
Dental Laboratories
2
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
4
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Discount Department Stores
3
Display Advertising
1
Document Preparation Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
26
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
7
Educational Support Services
1
Electrical Contractors
19
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
3
Environmental Consulting Services
4
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
10
Family Planning Centers
1
Fine Arts Schools
3
Finish Carpentry Contractors
4
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
14
Floor Covering Stores
6
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
3
Framing Contractors
4
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
56
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
4
Furniture Stores
9
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
6
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
13
Glass and Glazing Contractors
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Graphic Design Services
4
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Manufacturing
1
Hardware Stores
3
Hazardous Waste Collection
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
4
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
8
Home Health Equipment Rental
3
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
4
Human Rights Organizations
1
Hydroelectric Power Generation
2
Industrial Launderers
1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
5
Industrial Pattern Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
45
Interior Design Services
3
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
3
Janitorial Services
14
Jewelry Stores
13
Junior Colleges
1
Land Subdivision
2
Landscape Architectural Services
2
Landscaping Services
21
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
6
Linen Supply
2
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
11
Mail-Order Houses
2
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Materials Recovery Facilities
1
Media Representatives
2
Medical Laboratories
4
Men's Clothing Stores
4
Metal Heat Treating
2
Metal Stamping
3
Miscellaneous Intermediation
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
8
Motion Picture and Video Production
2
Motor Vehicle Metal Stamping
6
Motor Vehicle Towing
3
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Museums
3
Musical Groups and Artists
5
New Car Dealers
9
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonferrous Forging
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
3
Nursing Care Facilities
7
Office Administrative Services
4
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
7
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
10
Offices of Chiropractors
6
Offices of Dentists
50
Offices of Lawyers
36
Offices of Optometrists
6
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
6
Optical Goods Stores
6
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
2
Packaging and Labeling Services
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
3
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
9
Passenger Car Rental
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
4
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
3
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
5
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
19
Photography Studios, Portrait
9
Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil
1
Portfolio Management
3
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Professional Organizations
1
Quick Printing
1
Radio Stations
1
Real Estate Credit
6
Real Estate Investment Trusts
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Remediation Services
2
Residential Property Managers
10
Residential Remodelers
23
Roofing Contractors
7
Rooming and Boarding Houses
1
Savings Institutions
8
School and Employee Bus Transportation
2
Securities Brokerage
8
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Shoe Stores
14
Site Preparation Contractors
7
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
7
Solid Waste Collection
1
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Sporting Goods Stores
8
Spring (Light Gauge) Manufacturing
1
Tax Preparation Services
9
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
5
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Timber Tract Operations
1
Tire Dealers
7
Tobacco Stores
6
Travel Agencies
4
Used Car Dealers
19
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
3
Used Merchandise Stores
6
Vending Machine Operators
3
Veterinary Services
5
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
2
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
5
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
7
Women's Clothing Stores
9
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
1

Have You Considered Franchising?

Examine a list of Muncie businesses and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

We highly recommend you consider franchising as an option. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Franchise Versus Business Opportunity. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Representative franchise opportunities include ServPro and Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Interior Environment Franchises.

Note on Muncie Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Muncie.

Is Buying an Existing Muncie Business a Good Strategy?

We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Indiana. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Muncie.

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

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

Creating a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan

To learn more about business plans, read Reasons to Write a Business Plan. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Indiana.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Muncie. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

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

We are here to help Muncie businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Muncie, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Muncie, Indiana

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

More Startup Articles for Indiana Cities

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Starting a Business in Munster

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Indiana
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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