Illinois Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Pekin, Illinois

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

An entrepreneurial life is demanding, much more challenging than working as an employee. Are you positive you want to start a business?

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Pekin. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. 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.

Pekin, Illinois Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3804
5-9 Employees
1719
10-19 Employees
1143
20-49 Employees
810
50-99 Employees
243
100-249 Employees
135
250-499 Employees
27
500-999 Employees
9
1000+ Employees
0
All Pekin Businesses
7890

As a new Pekin entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Pekin 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
3
Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting)
1
Ambulance Services
1
Apprenticeship Training
1
Architectural Services
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
4
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Baked Goods Stores
2
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
14
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Boat Dealers
1
Bowling Centers
2
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
4
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
5
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Cemeteries and Crematories
2
Child Day Care Services
4
Civic and Social Organizations
10
Clothing Accessories Stores
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
3
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
3
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Consumer Lending
9
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
3
Convenience Stores
1
Credit Bureaus
1
Credit Unions
4
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
2
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
3
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
6
Engineering Services
1
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing
2
Family Clothing Stores
2
Family Planning Centers
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
2
Fine Arts Schools
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
5
Floor Covering Stores
2
Florists
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
7
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
1
Framing Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
29
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
5
Furniture Stores
6
General Automotive Repair
4
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
3
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
1
Home Centers
1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
3
Homes for the Elderly
5
Household Appliance Stores
3
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
3
Industrial Launderers
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
23
Interior Design Services
2
Internet Service Providers
2
Investigation Services
1
Iron and Steel Mills
1
Iron Foundries
1
Janitorial Services
9
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
9
Limited-Service Restaurants
32
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
5
Marinas
1
Masonry Contractors
4
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
2
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
2
Nail Salons
1
Navigational Services to Shipping
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
2
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Dentists
14
Offices of Lawyers
19
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
3
Optical Goods Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Paperboard Mills
1
Passenger Car Rental
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
5
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Organizations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
3
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Residential Property Managers
3
Roofing Contractors
3
Sales Financing
1
Savings Institutions
2
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
3
Sewage Treatment Facilities
1
Shoe Stores
3
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
4
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sporting Goods Stores
7
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Shelters
2
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
3
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tobacco Stores
3
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
8
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
4

What About Franchising Opportunities?

As you drive around Pekin, it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. But is franchising the right option for you?

Most business experts recommend that you evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. We have many articles on franchises, such as Buying an Existing Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Stretch-N-Grow International and Nature's Soap Dish. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Asian Restaurant Franchises and Environmental Testing Franchises.

Note on Pekin Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Pekin, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Should You Buy an Existing Pekin Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Illinois. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Pekin.

If you are going to be buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.

Selecting a Name For Your Business

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 should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Pekin, it's critical that you ensure that no other Illinois company is using the business name you want to use.

Company Formation in Pekin, 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. Just because you are starting a business in Illinois, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Illinois. As it turns out, you are allowed to 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Registered Agents. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Pekin, Illinois, our information on Incorporating in Illinois may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Illinois.

Now It's Up To You

As an entrepreneur in Pekin, 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.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Pekin and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Pekin, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Pekin, Illinois

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Illinois

Starting a Business in Pecatonica
Starting a Business in Peoria

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

 

 

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