Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania

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

Which Business to Choose?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Good Business Ideas.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start an Aggregate Consulting Business guide or our How to Start a Bee Control & Removal Services Business guide.

Don't forget that you are starting a business in Dillsburg. Some businesses will do better in Dillsburg than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Dillsburg demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Dillsburg, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
571
5-9 Employees
192
10-19 Employees
117
20-49 Employees
96
50-99 Employees
9
100-249 Employees
18
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Dillsburg Businesses
1003

As a new Dillsburg entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Dillsburg 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
Amusement Arcades
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Beauty Salons
6
Child Day Care Services
5
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Claims Adjusting
1
Commercial Photography
1
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Computer Systems Design Services
2
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Electric Power Distribution
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Engineering Services
5
Family Clothing Stores
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Flooring Contractors
3
Florists
1
Framing Contractors
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
6
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
4
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
4
Landscaping Services
7
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Libraries and Archives
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
9
Machine Shops
1
Mail-Order Houses
1
Masonry Contractors
6
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Nail Salons
1
New Car Dealers
2
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
3
Offices of Lawyers
4
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Packing and Crating
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Portfolio Management
1
Professional Organizations
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
2
Residential Remodelers
4
Roofing Contractors
1
Savings Institutions
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Siding Contractors
1
Site Preparation Contractors
6
Tax Preparation Services
1
Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing
2
Used Car Dealers
1
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2

Naming the Company

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

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: Branding Advice.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Dillsburg, it's imperative that you check now that no other Pennsylvania company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania

It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will protect 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.

Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Pennsylvania, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Pennsylvania. In fact, you can 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 How to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, our information on Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

Having a business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Pennsylvania.

Marketing Your New Venture

Whether your goal is to attract Dillsburg customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

We have some useful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Comparing Advertising to PR 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 sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

Good entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Pennsylvania universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Dillsburg entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Some Interesting Dillsburg Entrepreneurs

We're compiling a number of interviews with Dillsburg entrepreneurs. Enjoy!

Moving Forward

Most new Dillsburg 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.

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

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

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