Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

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

What Type of Business Should You Start?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Free Business Ideas.

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 How to Start a Clamps Business guide or our Opening a Fire Alarms & Equipment Testing Business guide.

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

Ellwood City, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
585
5-9 Employees
237
10-19 Employees
126
20-49 Employees
90
50-99 Employees
24
100-249 Employees
24
250-499 Employees
3
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Ellwood City Businesses
1089

As a new Ellwood City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Ellwood City 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
2
Architectural Services
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
9
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
1
Cafeterias
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child Day Care Services
3
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Credit Unions
3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
8
Electrical Contractors
4
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Fine Arts Schools
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
5
Flat Glass Manufacturing
1
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
1
Food Service Contractors
2
Framing Contractors
2
Full-Service Restaurants
9
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
5
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Hardware Stores
2
Historical Sites
1
Home Centers
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
6
Iron and Steel Forging
1
Janitorial Services
4
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
13
Machine Shops
5
Masonry Contractors
5
Motorcycle Dealers
1
New Car Dealers
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Dentists
7
Offices of Lawyers
4
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
Optical Goods Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
5
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
1
Plate Work Manufacturing
1
Quick Printing
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Residential Remodelers
7
Retail Bakeries
2
Savings Institutions
2
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
3
Solid Waste Collection
1
Testing Laboratories
2
Tire Dealers
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Ellwood City Business?

We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Pennsylvania. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Ellwood City.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Naming the Business

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Ellwood City, it's very important that you make sure no other Pennsylvania company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

It's essential 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 corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating 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 Pennsylvania, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Pennsylvania. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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 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 Piercing the Corporate Veil. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, our information on Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.

The Art of Selling

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Ellwood City or are selling to customers throughout Pennsylvania, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Not knowing how to sell can result in lost customers and minimal market share. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Selling Products on eBay is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Ellwood City. 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.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Ellwood City and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Ellwood City, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania

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

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