Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Du Bois, Pennsylvania

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

What Type of Business Should You Start?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. 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 Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Always keep in mind that your new business will be in Du Bois. Some businesses will do better in Du Bois than others. Don't forget to review Du Bois demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Du Bois, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3063
5-9 Employees
1656
10-19 Employees
819
20-49 Employees
630
50-99 Employees
324
100-249 Employees
153
250-499 Employees
18
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
9
All Du Bois Businesses
6672

As a new Du Bois entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Du Bois 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
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Apprenticeship Training
1
Architectural Services
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
8
Beauty Salons
17
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Bowling Centers
1
Business and Secretarial Schools
1
Business Associations
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
2
Car Washes
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
4
Civic and Social Organizations
8
Claims Adjusting
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Computer Facilities Management Services
1
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Confectionery and Nut Stores
2
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Consumer Lending
3
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
1
Couriers
1
Creamery Butter Manufacturing
1
Credit Unions
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Digital Printing
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
5
Discount Department Stores
2
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
6
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
4
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
4
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
6
Floor Covering Stores
2
Florists
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Full-Service Restaurants
25
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
2
General Automotive Repair
7
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
6
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Stores
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Centers
2
Home Health Care Services
3
Household Appliance Stores
3
Industrial Launderers
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
17
Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
1
Janitorial Services
6
Jewelry Stores
5
Junior Colleges
1
Landscaping Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
23
Linen Supply
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
4
Meat Markets
1
Metal Heat Treating
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Natural Gas Distribution
3
New Car Dealers
11
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
2
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
9
Offices of Chiropractors
5
Offices of Dentists
11
Offices of Lawyers
10
Offices of Optometrists
4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing
1
Optical Goods Stores
3
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Payroll Services
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
6
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Plate Work Manufacturing
1
Powder Metallurgy Part Manufacturing
2
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Radio Networks
1
Radio Stations
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Residential Remodelers
8
Retail Bakeries
3
Sales Financing
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
2
Securities Brokerage
1
Sewage Treatment Facilities
1
Shoe Stores
4
Siding Contractors
2
Sign Manufacturing
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
8
Sporting Goods Stores
3
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Spring (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing
1
Support Activities for Coal Mining
1
Tax Preparation Services
2
Telemarketing Bureaus
2
Temporary Shelters
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tire Dealers
4
Tradebinding and Related Work
1
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
3
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Veterinary Services
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
3
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
5
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
6

Naming the Business

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.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

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 opening a business in Du Bois, 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 Du Bois, Pennsylvania

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.

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. 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 Pennsylvania, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Pennsylvania. 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 LLC Advantages. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Du Bois, Pennsylvania, our information on Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.

How to Sell

Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Du Bois business to do well.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Effective Sales Presentations offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

The best entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Du Bois, Pennsylvania, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Pennsylvania educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Du Bois entrepreneurs.

Never Give Up

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

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 Du Bois and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Du Bois 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 Du Bois, Pennsylvania

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

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