Illinois Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Marion, Illinois

Contemplating starting a business in Marion, Illinois? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Marion.

What Business to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Geriatrics Optometrists Business guide or our Opening a Parachutes Business guide.

Remember that starting a business in Marion has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Marion than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Marion demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Marion, Illinois Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
26562
5-9 Employees
10773
10-19 Employees
7695
20-49 Employees
4275
50-99 Employees
1539
100-249 Employees
1026
250-499 Employees
342
500-999 Employees
171
1000+ Employees
0
All Marion Businesses
52383

As a new Marion entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Marion 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
3
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Apprenticeship Training
1
Architectural Services
3
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
5
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Boat Dealers
1
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
2
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Child Day Care Services
4
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
4
Claims Adjusting
2
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Consumer Lending
7
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
3
Convenience Stores
1
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
1
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
2
Couriers
5
Credit Unions
2
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
2
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
6
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
4
Electrical Contractors
8
Electronic Shopping
1
Engineering Services
4
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
3
Family Clothing Stores
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
3
Florists
5
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
1
Framing Contractors
2
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
4
General Automotive Repair
8
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
4
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
2
Hardware Stores
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
3
Home Health Care Services
3
Home Health Equipment Rental
2
Homes for the Elderly
2
Household Appliance Stores
1
Industrial Launderers
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
24
Janitorial Services
3
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
2
Landscape Architectural Services
2
Landscaping Services
7
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
24
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
3
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Masonry Contractors
3
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Mobile Food Services
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
New Car Dealers
6
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
19
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
13
Offices of Lawyers
34
Offices of Optometrists
7
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Optical Goods Stores
2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Passenger Car Rental
3
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
6
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Political Organizations
1
Quick Printing
1
Radio Stations
8
Real Estate Credit
3
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
4
Roofing Contractors
2
Savings Institutions
1
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Shoe Stores
5
Siding Contractors
1
Site Preparation Contractors
10
Small Arms Ammunition Manufacturing
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
3
Soft Drink Manufacturing
1
Sporting Goods Stores
7
Sports and Recreation Instruction
2
Support Activities for Coal Mining
1
Tax Preparation Services
3
Temporary Help Services
6
Tire Dealers
5
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
3
Tour Operators
2
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
3
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
4

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.

Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.

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

On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Marion, it's imperative that you check now that you will be the only Illinois company using the business name you have chosen.

Forming a Company in Marion, Illinois

It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield 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 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, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Illinois. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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 Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Marion, Illinois, our information on Incorporating in Illinois may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Illinois.

Letting the World Know You Exist

To rise above the crowd in Marion and accelerate your business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Telemarketing Service Costs 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.

Selling Tips

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

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

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

Next Steps

Most new Marion 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 Marion and elsewhere to achieve real success. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Marion, Illinois

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

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