Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Shamokin, Pennsylvania
Thinking about starting a business in Shamokin, Pennsylvania? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Shamokin.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Before you get too far along in the process, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
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 Shamokin. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Shamokin, Pennsylvania Demographic Information
Shamokin has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Shamokin demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Shamokin.
Businesses
As a new Shamokin entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Shamokin 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.
Businesses
Naming the 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.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Shamokin, it's very important that you make sure no other Pennsylvania company is using the business name you want to use.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Pennsylvania.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Getting your Shamokin business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Attracting Investors.
For Shamokin entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of Pennsylvania Angel Investors and our List of Pennsylvania Venture Capital Firms.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Company
To rise above the crowd in Shamokin and build your business, you need a solid marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Customer Loyalty Programs is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Shamokin. 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 Shamokin businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Shamokin, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Shamokin, Pennsylvania
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Shamokin.
- Resources for Shamokin, Pennsylvania Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Shamokin entrepreneurs.
- Pennsylvania Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Pennsylvania.
- Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center - Pennsylvania SBDCs help aspiring entrepreneurs turn ideas into businesses, help small firms expand, and provide the information every business person needs to make critical decisions. There is no charge for their assistance and their free help can make the difference between business success and failure.
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