Ohio Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Harrison, Ohio

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

Being an entrepreneur is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you want to go into business for yourself?

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

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Harrison. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. 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.

Harrison, Ohio Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
7080
5-9 Employees
3744
10-19 Employees
2376
20-49 Employees
1584
50-99 Employees
612
100-249 Employees
252
250-499 Employees
144
500-999 Employees
36
1000+ Employees
0
All Harrison Businesses
15828

As a new Harrison entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Harrison 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
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
12
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
3
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
2
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
2
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
2
Credit Unions
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Electrical Contractors
5
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Engineering Services
2
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Family Planning Centers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Florists
2
Framing Contractors
1
Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing
1
Full-Service Restaurants
12
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
7
Interior Design Services
1
Investment Advice
1
Iron Foundries
1
Janitorial Services
4
Landscaping Services
10
Limited-Service Restaurants
20
Machine Shops
1
Mail-Order Houses
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Masonry Contractors
4
Meat Markets
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
2
Offices of Chiropractors
3
Offices of Dentists
6
Offices of Lawyers
5
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Optical Goods Stores
2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Poultry Processing
3
Printing Ink Manufacturing
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
2
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Remediation Services
2
Residential Remodelers
5
Retail Bakeries
1
Roofing Contractors
3
Savings Institutions
6
Securities Brokerage
1
Setup Paperboard Box Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
1
Sign Manufacturing
2
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Temporary Help Services
2
Testing Laboratories
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire Manufacturing (except Retreading)
1
Tobacco Stores
1
Travel Agencies
1
Truss Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
3
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Veterinary Services
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
5
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
2

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Harrison Business?

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

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

Naming the Company

A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.

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.

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

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Harrison, it's critical that you ensure that no Ohio company has already registered the company name you have selected.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Software. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Ohio.

Marketing Your New Venture

To rise above the crowd in Harrison and build your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Elevator Advertising is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Now It's Up To You

As an entrepreneur in Harrison, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

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

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Harrison, Ohio

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

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Ohio

Starting a Business in Hamilton
Starting a Business in Hartville

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Ohio
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary