Illinois Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Danville, Illinois

Thinking about starting a business in Danville, Illinois? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Danville.

Danville, Illinois Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
20839
5-9 Employees
10062
10-19 Employees
6084
20-49 Employees
4290
50-99 Employees
1638
100-249 Employees
741
250-499 Employees
429
500-999 Employees
195
1000+ Employees
39
All Danville Businesses
44317

As a new Danville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Danville 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
2
Ambulance Services
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
14
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
12
Book Publishers
2
Book Stores
2
Bowling Centers
2
Burial Casket Manufacturing
1
Business Associations
4
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
4
Caterers
2
Cemeteries and Crematories
3
Child and Youth Services
5
Child Day Care Services
7
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
14
Claims Adjusting
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
1
Commodity Contracts Dealing
2
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Consumer Lending
6
Convenience Stores
2
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
1
Credit Unions
12
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
5
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Discount Department Stores
2
Document Preparation Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
18
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
8
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
2
Farm Management Services
1
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage
1
Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
6
Floor Covering Stores
2
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
30
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
5
General Automotive Repair
12
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
5
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
3
Grantmaking Foundations
2
Hardware Manufacturing
3
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Centers
2
Home Health Care Services
2
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
25
Internet Service Providers
1
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
3
Janitorial Services
12
Jewelry Stores
2
Land Subdivision
1
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
7
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
40
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers
1
Locksmiths
1
Marinas
1
Marketing Consulting Services
2
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Metal Can Manufacturing
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Museums
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
2
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Office Administrative Services
1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
7
Offices of Dentists
17
Offices of Lawyers
29
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
3
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
Optical Goods Stores
2
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Packing and Crating
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
4
Payroll Services
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Political Organizations
1
Portfolio Management
3
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
4
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Organizations
1
Quick Printing
1
Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Recreational Goods Rental
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Residential Property Managers
5
Retail Bakeries
1
Roofing Contractors
5
Savings Institutions
2
School and Employee Bus Transportation
2
Securities Brokerage
5
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sewage Treatment Facilities
1
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
6
Solid Waste Collection
2
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Soybean Processing
1
Sporting Goods Stores
7
Tax Preparation Services
3
Taxi Service
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
6
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
1
Tire Dealers
4
Travel Agencies
1
Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
5
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Vending Machine Operators
5
Veterinary Services
6
Video Tape and Disc Rental
6
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
4
Women's Clothing Stores
6

What About Buying an Existing Danville Business?

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

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.

Naming the Company

A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

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

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Danville, it's imperative that you check now that no other Illinois company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Danville, Illinois

It's very important that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. 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.

Incorporation is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Illinois, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Illinois. As it turns out, you can 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Danville, Illinois, our information on Incorporating in Illinois may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Illinois.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Illinois.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Getting your Danville business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

Take advantage of our many articles on securing funding, such as Business Incubators.

For Danville entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, you'll want to take a look at our List of Illinois Angel Investors and our List of Illinois Venture Capital Firms.

Selling Tips

Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Danville business to do well.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Effective Sales Presentations is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

Never Give Up

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

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Danville and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Danville 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 Danville, Illinois

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Illinois

Starting a Business in Crystal Lake
Starting a Business in Decatur

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

 

 

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