Florida Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Sanford, Florida

Are you starting a business in Sanford, Florida? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Sanford.

Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?

Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Sanford. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. 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.

Which Business to Choose?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Finding Your Niche in Life.

For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Cutting Oils Business guide or our How to Start a Sexually Transmitted Diseases Physicians & Surgeons Business guide.

Remember that your new startup will be located in Sanford. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Sanford. A critical consideration is whether Sanford demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Sanford, Florida Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
22456
5-9 Employees
7875
10-19 Employees
5082
20-49 Employees
3759
50-99 Employees
1218
100-249 Employees
819
250-499 Employees
147
500-999 Employees
42
1000+ Employees
42
All Sanford Businesses
41440

As a new Sanford entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Sanford 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
Aircraft Manufacturing
1
Amusement Arcades
2
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
4
Art Dealers
2
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
10
Automotive Transmission Repair
7
Baked Goods Stores
1
Barber Shops
2
Beauty Salons
22
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
11
Boat Dealers
3
Book Publishers
2
Book Stores
3
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
2
Business to Business Electronic Markets
2
Car Washes
7
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
3
Caterers
4
Cemeteries and Crematories
3
Child and Youth Services
3
Child Day Care Services
14
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
5
Claims Adjusting
2
Clothing Accessories Stores
3
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
4
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Bakeries
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Commercial Photography
1
Computer and Software Stores
7
Computer Systems Design Services
7
Computer Terminal Manufacturing
1
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Confectionery and Nut Stores
2
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
2
Consumer Lending
3
Convenience Stores
10
Copper Rolling, Drawing, and Extruding
1
Couriers
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
2
Credit Bureaus
1
Credit Unions
3
Custom Computer Programming Services
14
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Discount Department Stores
2
Display Advertising
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
3
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
13
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
21
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
7
Employment Placement Agencies
2
Engineering Services
14
Environmental Consulting Services
5
Family Clothing Stores
13
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
17
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
3
Flooring Contractors
6
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
4
Food Service Contractors
6
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Framing Contractors
7
Freight Transportation Arrangement
5
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
41
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
2
Furniture Stores
7
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
9
Glass and Glazing Contractors
5
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Graphic Design Services
3
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
5
Hardware Stores
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
6
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
2
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
1
Human Rights Organizations
2
Industrial Design Services
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
26
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
2
Iron Foundries
1
Irradiation Apparatus Manufacturing
1
Janitorial Services
14
Jewelry Stores
13
Kidney Dialysis Centers
2
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
35
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
49
Limousine Service
1
Linen Supply
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
2
Logging
1
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
2
Machine Shops
9
Mail-Order Houses
4
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Marinas
3
Marketing Consulting Services
6
Meat Markets
1
Men's Clothing Stores
5
Metal Household Furniture Manufacturing
1
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
2
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
7
Motion Picture and Video Production
3
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing
3
Motor Vehicle Towing
3
Motorcycle Dealers
3
Musical Instrument Manufacturing
1
Nail Salons
4
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
11
News Dealers and Newsstands
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
5
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
5
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
7
Offices of Dentists
9
Offices of Lawyers
30
Offices of Optometrists
6
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
Optical Goods Stores
7
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
14
Paper (except Newsprint) Mills
1
Passenger Car Leasing
1
Passenger Car Rental
5
Payroll Services
2
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
4
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
8
Photography Studios, Portrait
6
Political Organizations
1
Polystyrene Foam Product Manufacturing
1
Powder Metallurgy Part Manufacturing
1
Primary Battery Manufacturing
1
Private Mail Centers
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
3
Real Estate Credit
6
Real Estate Investment Trusts
1
Recreational Goods Rental
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Remediation Services
1
Repossession Services
2
Residential Remodelers
21
Retail Bakeries
2
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
2
Roofing Contractors
10
Savings Institutions
5
Securities Brokerage
2
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
3
Shoe Stores
11
Siding Contractors
4
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
10
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
7
Software Publishers
1
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
6
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Temporary Help Services
4
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
6
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
3
Tobacco Stores
3
Tour Operators
1
Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing
1
Truck Trailer Manufacturing
1
Truss Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
14
Used Merchandise Stores
8
Vending Machine Operators
5
Veterinary Services
5
Video Tape and Disc Rental
4
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
3
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
2
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
4
Women's Clothing Stores
21
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1
Zoos and Botanical Gardens
1

Should You Buy an Existing Sanford Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Florida. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Sanford.

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

Forming a Company in Sanford, Florida

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.

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 Florida, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Florida. As it turns out, you are allowed to incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Piercing the Corporate Veil. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Sanford, Florida, our information on Incorporating in Florida may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Florida.

Promoting Your New Company

To rise above the crowd in Sanford and build your business, you need a great marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Billboard Advertising Best Practices is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Now It's Up To You

As an entrepreneur in Sanford, 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.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Sanford and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Sanford, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Sanford, Florida

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

  • Resources for Sanford, Florida Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Sanford 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.

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