Ohio Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Willoughby, Ohio

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Willoughby. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
  • Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

Willoughby, Ohio Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2375
5-9 Employees
900
10-19 Employees
510
20-49 Employees
381
50-99 Employees
165
100-249 Employees
81
250-499 Employees
15
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
3
All Willoughby Businesses
4430

As a new Willoughby entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Willoughby 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
Aluminum Die-Casting Foundries
1
Aluminum Extruded Product Manufacturing
1
Amusement and Theme Parks
1
Amusement Arcades
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
22
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Book Stores
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
1
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Caterers
3
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child Day Care Services
11
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Flexographic Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Facilities Management Services
2
Computer Systems Design Services
12
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
2
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
6
Credit Unions
1
Crown and Closure Manufacturing
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
10
Custom Roll Forming
1
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Document Preparation Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
13
Educational Support Services
1
Electrical Contractors
12
Electronic Shopping
3
Elementary and Secondary Schools
4
Employment Placement Agencies
6
Engineering Services
18
Family Clothing Stores
1
Fine Arts Schools
5
Finish Carpentry Contractors
11
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Flight Training
1
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
4
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
4
Framing Contractors
2
Fruit and Vegetable Canning
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
33
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
General Automotive Repair
16
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
4
Glass and Glazing Contractors
3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Hardware Stores
2
HMO Medical Centers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Centers
1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Building Construction
1
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
6
Industrial Valve Manufacturing
2
Interior Design Services
4
Investment Advice
2
Iron and Steel Forging
1
Janitorial Services
14
Jewelry Stores
4
Junior Colleges
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
32
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
3
Limited-Service Restaurants
39
Limousine Service
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
3
Machine Shops
45
Mail-Order Houses
2
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
1
Media Buying Agencies
1
Media Representatives
1
Medical Laboratories
3
Metal Heat Treating
2
Metal Stamping
6
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
4
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Metal Stamping
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
2
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Musical Instrument Manufacturing
2
New Car Dealers
7
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
4
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Chiropractors
8
Offices of Dentists
45
Offices of Lawyers
26
Offices of Optometrists
5
Offices of Other Holding Companies
3
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
3
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing
2
Paint and Coating Manufacturing
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
6
Periodical Publishers
4
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
5
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Portfolio Management
2
Power-Driven Handtool Manufacturing
1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
8
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Employer Organizations
2
Public Relations Agencies
2
Quick Printing
3
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
7
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Remodelers
7
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
3
Rolled Steel Shape Manufacturing
1
Roofing Contractors
9
Savings Institutions
1
Securities Brokerage
4
Security Guards and Patrol Services
3
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
3
Shoe Stores
3
Siding Contractors
2
Site Preparation Contractors
10
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
12
Software Publishers
2
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sporting Goods Stores
4
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Steel Investment Foundries
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Telecommunications Resellers
2
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Help Services
6
Tire Dealers
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Tobacco Stores
1
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Veterinary Services
5
Video Tape and Disc Rental
4
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
10
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
2

Is Franchising a Better Option?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Willoughby and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Our advice is to evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Franchise Law. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Sample franchise opportunities include Instant Imprints and Moe's Southwest Grill. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Closet Design and Construction Franchises and Fast Food Franchises.

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

Is Buying an Existing Willoughby Business a Good Strategy?

We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Ohio. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Willoughby.

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

Choosing a Business Name

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.

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.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Willoughby, it's very important that you make sure no other Ohio company is using the business name you want to use.

Marketing Your New Startup

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

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Direct Mail Costs is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Good entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.

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

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Willoughby. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

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

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

  • Resources for Willoughby, Ohio Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Willoughby entrepreneurs.
  • Ohio Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Ohio.
  • Ohio Small Business Development Center - Whether you're starting your business, expanding your business, or just looking to stay in business, the Small Business Development Centers of Ohio (SBDCs of Ohio) can help with professional guidance by connecting you with research, financing sources, and training opportunities.

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