Illinois Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Naperville, Illinois

Contemplating starting a business in Naperville, Illinois? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Naperville.

Naperville, Illinois Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
9036
5-9 Employees
2298
10-19 Employees
1719
20-49 Employees
1263
50-99 Employees
537
100-249 Employees
267
250-499 Employees
63
500-999 Employees
18
1000+ Employees
9
All Naperville Businesses
15210

As a new Naperville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Naperville 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
22
Ambulance Services
1
Amusement Arcades
2
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
3
Architectural Services
23
Art Dealers
3
Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing
2
Automobile Manufacturing
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Baked Goods Stores
3
Barber Shops
2
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
11
Blind and Shade Manufacturing
1
Boat Dealers
2
Book Publishers
2
Book Stores
8
Bowling Centers
1
Breakfast Cereal Manufacturing
1
Business Associations
8
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
2
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Car Washes
7
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
8
Caterers
8
Charter Bus Industry
2
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
49
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
4
Civic and Social Organizations
7
Claims Adjusting
6
Clothing Accessories Stores
2
Collection Agencies
6
Commercial Lithographic Printing
7
Commercial Photography
2
Commercial Screen Printing
3
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
5
Commodity Contracts Dealing
7
Community Food Services
3
Computer Facilities Management Services
2
Computer Systems Design Services
137
Computer Training
7
Confectionery and Nut Stores
2
Consumer Lending
6
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
4
Convenience Stores
6
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
4
Credit Bureaus
2
Credit Unions
6
Curtain and Drapery Mills
3
Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins
1
Dental Laboratories
6
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
7
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
2
Digital Printing
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
11
Direct Mail Advertising
5
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
7
Display Advertising
3
Document Preparation Services
11
Drilling Oil and Gas Wells
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
7
Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
4
Educational Support Services
13
Electrical Contractors
38
Electronic Shopping
9
Elementary and Secondary Schools
10
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Employment Placement Agencies
19
Engineering Services
64
Environmental Consulting Services
4
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
5
Facilities Support Services
5
Family Clothing Stores
8
Family Planning Centers
1
Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturing
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
28
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
31
Floor Covering Stores
11
Flooring Contractors
5
Florists
14
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
4
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
2
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
2
Framing Contractors
6
Freight Transportation Arrangement
11
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
109
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
5
Furniture Stores
16
General Automotive Repair
36
General Freight Trucking, Local
7
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
6
General Warehousing and Storage
11
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
6
Grantmaking Foundations
4
Graphic Design Services
21
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
8
Hardware Stores
4
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Home Centers
3
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
10
Home Health Care Services
9
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
8
Industrial Building Construction
1
Industrial Pattern Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
112
Interior Design Services
20
International Trade Financing
1
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
3
Internet Service Providers
7
Investigation Services
6
Iron and Steel Forging
1
Iron and Steel Mills
2
Janitorial Services
32
Jewelry Stores
13
Junior Colleges
1
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
5
Landscaping Services
45
Language Schools
2
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
4
Limited-Service Restaurants
112
Limousine Service
5
Linen Supply
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
4
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Machine Shops
5
Mail-Order Houses
6
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Marketing Consulting Services
42
Marking Device Manufacturing
1
Masonry Contractors
14
Mattress Manufacturing
1
Meat Markets
3
Media Buying Agencies
1
Media Representatives
5
Medical Laboratories
5
Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing
1
Men's Clothing Stores
2
Miscellaneous Intermediation
4
Mobile Food Services
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
29
Motion Picture and Video Production
3
Motor Vehicle Towing
4
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Museums
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
5
Nail Salons
1
Natural Gas Distribution
3
New Car Dealers
16
New Housing Operative Builders
20
News Dealers and Newsstands
1
Newspaper Publishers
4
Nursing Care Facilities
8
Office Administrative Services
23
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
7
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
6
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
47
Offices of Chiropractors
40
Offices of Dentists
116
Offices of Optometrists
14
Offices of Other Holding Companies
5
Offices of Podiatrists
5
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
12
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
3
Optical Goods Stores
4
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packing and Crating
2
Paging
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
38
Passenger Car Leasing
1
Passenger Car Rental
6
Payroll Services
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
5
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
12
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
21
Photography Studios, Portrait
17
Political Organizations
1
Portfolio Management
15
Prepress Services
1
Printing Ink Manufacturing
1
Private Mail Centers
4
Professional Employer Organizations
3
Professional Organizations
2
Public Relations Agencies
2
Quick Printing
5
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
16
Reinsurance Carriers
1
Remediation Services
3
Repossession Services
1
Residential Property Managers
13
Residential Remodelers
55
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
5
Roofing Contractors
7
Sales Financing
3
Satellite Telecommunications
1
Savings Institutions
21
Schiffli Machine Embroidery
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
5
Securities Brokerage
35
Security Guards and Patrol Services
7
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
11
Siding Contractors
6
Sign Manufacturing
3
Site Preparation Contractors
22
Software Publishers
16
Software Reproducing
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sound Recording Studios
1
Special Needs Transportation
1
Sporting Goods Stores
12
Sports and Recreation Instruction
15
Storage Battery Manufacturing
1
Tax Preparation Services
15
Telecommunications Resellers
4
Telemarketing Bureaus
2
Telephone Answering Services
2
Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing
2
Television Broadcasting
1
Testing Laboratories
3
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
4
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
8
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
9
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tobacco Stores
7
Translation and Interpretation Services
1
Travel Agencies
20
Used Car Dealers
4
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
6
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
11
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
2
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
2
Web Search Portals
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
86
Window Treatment Stores
5
Wineries
1
Women's Clothing Stores
16
Wood Preservation
1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Naperville Business?

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

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Naming the Company

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Naperville, it's very important that you make sure no other Illinois company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Naperville, Illinois

It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will separate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in Illinois, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Illinois. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate in any state you would like to. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Pre-Incorporation Agreements. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Naperville, Illinois, our information on Incorporating in Illinois may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Illinois.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your Naperville business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. 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 Getting a Small Business Loan.

For Naperville entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of Illinois Angel Investors and our List of Illinois Venture Capital Firms.

Promoting Your New Company

To grow your Naperville business, you need a solid marketing plan.

You can learn all about marketing on our site. Advertising on Google is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

What's Next?

You have a dream -- starting a business in Naperville. 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.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Naperville and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Naperville entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Naperville, Illinois

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

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