Ohio Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Wilmington, Ohio

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before quitting your day job, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Wilmington. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Wilmington, Ohio Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
4998
5-9 Employees
2688
10-19 Employees
1638
20-49 Employees
861
50-99 Employees
357
100-249 Employees
252
250-499 Employees
147
500-999 Employees
63
1000+ Employees
42
All Wilmington Businesses
11046

As a new Wilmington entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Wilmington 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
Aluminum Die-Casting Foundries
1
Ambulance Services
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Beauty Salons
10
Boat Building
1
Boat Dealers
1
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
2
Cafeterias
1
Child Day Care Services
5
Civic and Social Organizations
7
Claims Adjusting
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
2
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
3
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Couriers
4
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Display Advertising
1
Document Preparation Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4
Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Educational Support Services
1
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Engineering Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Flooring Contractors
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
5
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
14
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
General Automotive Repair
6
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Home Centers
2
Home Health Care Services
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Industrial Launderers
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
9
Janitorial Services
3
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Landscaping Services
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
21
Livestock Merchant Wholesalers
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Machine Shops
1
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Motion Picture and Video Distribution
2
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Museums
1
New Car Dealers
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
3
Offices of Dentists
9
Offices of Lawyers
10
Offices of Optometrists
4
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
4
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
3
Recreational Goods Rental
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
5
Sawmills
1
Securities Brokerage
3
Shoe Stores
2
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Tire Dealers
3
Used Car Dealers
4
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
5
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
3

Have You Considered Franchising?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Wilmington and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Is there a franchise opportunity out there that makes sense for you?

Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Five Franchise Opportunities To Watch. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Quiznos Sub and Dale & Thomas Popcorn. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Healthcare Services Franchises and Auto Sales Franchises.

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

Company Formation in Wilmington, Ohio

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

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. Just because you are starting a business in Ohio, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Ohio. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Corporate Formalities. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Wilmington, Ohio, our web page covering Incorporating in Ohio may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Ohio.

Marketing Your New Venture

To rise above the crowd in Wilmington and advance your business, you need a solid marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Advertising on the Web is a good read to get your marketing creativity flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Successful entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.

With your business being located in Wilmington, Ohio, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby Ohio universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Wilmington entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Wilmington and throughout the United States . 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 Wilmington, Ohio

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

  • Resources for Wilmington, Ohio Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Wilmington 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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