Indiana Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Hammond, Indiana

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

Hammond, Indiana Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
9894
5-9 Employees
4842
10-19 Employees
3024
20-49 Employees
2826
50-99 Employees
828
100-249 Employees
504
250-499 Employees
144
500-999 Employees
18
1000+ Employees
36
All Hammond Businesses
22116

As a new Hammond entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hammond 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
Abrasive Product Manufacturing
1
Advertising Agencies
1
Architectural Services
1
Armored Car Services
1
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
5
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
12
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
14
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Book Stores
3
Bowling Centers
2
Breweries
1
Business and Secretarial Schools
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Car Washes
3
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Casinos (except Casino Hotels)
1
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
4
Child Day Care Services
7
Civic and Social Organizations
9
Claims Adjusting
1
Clay Refractory Manufacturing
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
6
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
8
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
1
Consumer Lending
2
Convenience Stores
8
Couriers
2
Credit Unions
6
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Dental Laboratories
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
33
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Electric Power Distribution
10
Electrical Contractors
7
Elementary and Secondary Schools
4
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
11
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
3
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
6
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
3
Flooring Contractors
2
Florists
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
2
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
2
Full-Service Restaurants
35
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
6
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
5
General Automotive Repair
18
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
7
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
5
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Hardware Stores
7
Hazardous Waste Collection
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Centers
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Building Construction
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
16
Interior Design Services
1
Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
1
Janitorial Services
7
Jewelry Stores
2
Junior Colleges
1
Kidney Dialysis Centers
2
Landscaping Services
7
Limited-Service Restaurants
50
Linen Supply
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
6
Locksmiths
2
Machine Shops
11
Masonry Contractors
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Metal Heat Treating
1
Metal Stamping
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motion Picture and Video Distribution
1
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
3
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
5
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonclay Refractory Manufacturing
2
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Administrative Services
4
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
5
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Dentists
8
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Paint and Coating Manufacturing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
4
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
4
Parking Lots and Garages
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
3
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
8
Photography Studios, Portrait
4
Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil
2
Plate Work Manufacturing
2
Prepress Services
3
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Public Relations Agencies
1
Radio Stations
1
Real Estate Credit
2
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
4
Residential Remodelers
8
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
2
Roofing Contractors
9
Savings Institutions
5
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
2
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Siding Contractors
1
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
5
Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing
1
Sound Recording Studios
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing
1
Tax Preparation Services
5
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
4
Tobacco Stores
12
Used Car Dealers
13
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
3
Used Merchandise Stores
4
Veterinary Services
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
6
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
5
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
9
Women's Clothing Stores
2
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
3

Should You Franchise?

As you drive around Hammond, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our recommendation is that you consider franchising as an option. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Understanding Franchise Contracts. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Swisher Hygiene and Maids Meals & More. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Healthcare Services Franchises and Auto Sales Franchises.

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

Should You Buy an Existing Hammond Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Indiana. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Hammond.

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Company Formation in Hammond, Indiana

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

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. Just because you are starting a business in Indiana, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Indiana. As it turns out, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Incorporation Advice. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Hammond, Indiana, our information on Incorporating in Indiana may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Indiana.

The Role of the Business Plan

A business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Presentations. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Indiana.

Marketing Your New Company

To grow your Hammond business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Newspaper Advertising Costs discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Good entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.

With your business being located in Hammond, Indiana, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Indiana educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Hammond entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

What's Next?

Most new Hammond businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Hammond businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Hammond, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Hammond, Indiana

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

More Business Startup Guides for Indiana

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Starting a Business in Hartford City

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