Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most startup companies don't make it, in part because the founder did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Bloomsburg. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1146
5-9 Employees
552
10-19 Employees
321
20-49 Employees
192
50-99 Employees
75
100-249 Employees
57
250-499 Employees
18
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
0
All Bloomsburg Businesses
2364

As a new Bloomsburg entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bloomsburg 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
Ambulance Services
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
2
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
2
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
12
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
2
Books Printing
1
Bowling Centers
1
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
2
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
1
Building Inspection Services
2
Car Washes
3
Carpet and Rug Mills
2
Caterers
2
Cemeteries and Crematories
2
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
9
Civic and Social Organizations
12
Collection Agencies
3
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Facilities Management Services
2
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Consumer Lending
3
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Credit Unions
1
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
3
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Display Advertising
1
Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing
1
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
7
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
4
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
4
Family Planning Centers
1
Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
7
Floor Covering Stores
1
Florists
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
3
Food Service Contractors
2
Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
7
General Automotive Repair
14
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Stores
2
Heating Oil Dealers
5
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Centers
2
Home Health Care Services
2
Household Appliance Stores
1
Human Rights Organizations
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
14
Investigation Services
1
Janitorial Services
2
Jewelry Stores
4
Land Subdivision
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Libraries and Archives
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
31
Machine Shops
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Masonry Contractors
8
Medical Laboratories
3
Metal Can Manufacturing
1
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
2
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
3
Museums
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
New Car Dealers
7
New Housing Operative Builders
4
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
5
Offices of Lawyers
14
Offices of Optometrists
4
Optical Goods Stores
3
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Payroll Services
4
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Polystyrene Foam Product Manufacturing
1
Portfolio Management
2
Private Mail Centers
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Remodelers
6
Savings Institutions
2
Sawmills
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
2
Securities Brokerage
3
Septic Tank and Related Services
2
Sewage Treatment Facilities
1
Shoe Stores
6
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Small Arms Manufacturing
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
5
Solid Waste Collection
3
Special Needs Transportation
1
Sporting Goods Stores
5
Tax Preparation Services
3
Telemarketing Bureaus
2
Telephone Answering Services
2
Temporary Help Services
5
Testing Laboratories
1
Textile Machinery Manufacturing
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
2
Tire Dealers
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Tobacco Stores
1
Travel Agencies
1
Underwear and Nightwear Knitting Mills
1
Used Car Dealers
5
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Veterinary Services
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
4
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
4

Is Franchising a Better Option?

As you drive around Bloomsburg, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?

Most business experts recommend that you look into purchasing a franchise. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Staffing a Franchise. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Renovation Professionals and Balloon Cafe Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Child Care Franchises and Home Services Franchises.

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

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Pennsylvania.

Startup Financing Basics

Getting your Bloomsburg business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Choosing VC Firms.

For Bloomsburg entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, we have assembled a List of Pennsylvania Angel Investors and our List of Pennsylvania Venture Capital Firms.

Letting the World Know You Exist

To grow your Bloomsburg business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your business achieving its goals.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Transit Advertising discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Next Steps

Most new Bloomsburg businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

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

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Bloomsburg and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Bloomsburg 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 Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

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

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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

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