Illinois Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Cicero, Illinois

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

Cicero, Illinois Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2678
5-9 Employees
924
10-19 Employees
690
20-49 Employees
474
50-99 Employees
216
100-249 Employees
132
250-499 Employees
54
500-999 Employees
6
1000+ Employees
12
All Cicero Businesses
5186

As a new Cicero entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Cicero 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
Apprenticeship Training
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
3
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Baked Goods Stores
4
Beauty Salons
4
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
6
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
3
Cafeterias
2
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Car Washes
5
Cheese Manufacturing
1
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
7
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
2
Civic and Social Organizations
3
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
5
Commercial Lithographic Printing
4
Commodity Contracts Dealing
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Discount Department Stores
2
Display Advertising
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
6
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Electrical Contractors
7
Electronic Connector Manufacturing
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Engineering Services
1
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Family Clothing Stores
4
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Flooring Contractors
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
2
Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing
1
Full-Service Restaurants
27
Furniture Stores
5
General Automotive Repair
22
General Freight Trucking, Local
27
General Rental Centers
3
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
3
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
1
Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal
1
Home Centers
1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Institutional Furniture Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
14
Iron and Steel Forging
1
Janitorial Services
11
Jewelry Stores
2
Landscape Architectural Services
2
Landscaping Services
17
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
5
Marking Device Manufacturing
1
Masonry Contractors
6
Mattress Manufacturing
1
Meat Markets
1
Metal Stamping
1
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
4
Motion Picture and Video Production
2
Motor Vehicle Towing
3
New Car Dealers
2
New Housing Operative Builders
3
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Administrative Services
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Chiropractors
3
Offices of Dentists
11
Offices of Lawyers
6
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
4
Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing
1
Optical Goods Stores
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Packing and Crating
1
Paging
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
3
Quick Printing
1
Racetracks
3
Real Estate Credit
2
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
5
Retail Bakeries
5
Rolled Steel Shape Manufacturing
1
Savings Institutions
8
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Shoe Stores
4
Siding Contractors
2
Sign Manufacturing
2
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Solid Waste Collection
5
Steel Foundries (except Investment)
1
Steel Wire Drawing
1
Tax Preparation Services
3
Taxi Service
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
7
Tobacco Stores
2
Tortilla Manufacturing
2
Tradebinding and Related Work
2
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
7
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Vending Machine Operators
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Women's Clothing Stores
6
Wood Office Furniture Manufacturing
3

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Cicero and it becomes clear that purchasing a franchise is a common way to get started as an entrepreneur. But is franchising the right option for you?

Most business experts recommend that you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Questions to Ask Franchisors. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Pick Up Stix and ACFN ATM Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Ice Cream Franchises and Pest Control Franchises.

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

What About Buying an Existing Cicero Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Illinois. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Cicero.

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

Naming the Company

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.

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.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Cicero, it's imperative that you check now that no Illinois company has already registered the company name you have selected.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Writing a business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Free Business Plan Templates. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Illinois.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Obtaining startup financing for your Cicero business is a difficult chore. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.

For Cicero entrepreneurs who need startup capital, browse our List of Illinois Angel Investors and our List of Illinois Venture Capital Firms.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

The best business owners recognize that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Cicero, Illinois, you should check out some of the learning programs at local Illinois educational institutions. Another way to keep up on your learning is to investigate Cicero networking organizations.

Now It's Up To You

Most new Cicero 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.

We are here to help Cicero businesses to be successful. 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 Cicero, Illinois

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

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Starting a Business in Cissna Park

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