Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Honesdale, Pennsylvania

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before you get too far along in the process, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Honesdale. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • You should read Starting a Company. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
  • Talk it over with a close friend or partner. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Honesdale, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
955
5-9 Employees
357
10-19 Employees
225
20-49 Employees
99
50-99 Employees
57
100-249 Employees
12
250-499 Employees
3
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
0
All Honesdale Businesses
1711

As a new Honesdale entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Honesdale 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
1
Amusement Arcades
1
Architectural Services
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Book Publishers
4
Books Printing
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
2
Child and Youth Services
2
Civic and Social Organizations
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Collection Agencies
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Computer and Software Stores
2
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
1
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
4
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
5
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
3
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Family Planning Centers
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
4
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Framing Contractors
4
Full-Service Restaurants
27
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
3
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
4
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Heating Oil Dealers
3
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
3
Human Rights Organizations
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
13
Internet Service Providers
2
Janitorial Services
3
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
7
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Libraries and Archives
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
9
Machine Shops
1
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Marinas
1
Masonry Contractors
4
Men's Clothing Stores
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Nail Salons
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
Navigational Services to Shipping
1
New Car Dealers
6
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
3
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Dentists
8
Offices of Lawyers
27
Offices of Optometrists
3
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Optical Goods Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
3
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
5
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing
1
Quick Printing
2
Radio Networks
1
Radio Stations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Remodelers
6
Roofing Contractors
2
Savings Institutions
1
Sawmills
3
School and Employee Bus Transportation
10
Securities Brokerage
2
Shoe Stores
3
Siding Contractors
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Collection
1
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Sporting Goods Stores
4
Tax Preparation Services
1
Textile Machinery Manufacturing
1
Tire Dealers
4
Tobacco Stores
1
Travel Agencies
2
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
6
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
2

What About Buying an Existing Honesdale Business?

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

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

A business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Contests. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Pennsylvania.

Getting the Word Out About Your New Business

Whether your goal is to attract Honesdale customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a solid marketing plan.

We have some great resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Local Search is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

The Art of Selling

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

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

The Art of Customer Referrals offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

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 Honesdale, Pennsylvania, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Pennsylvania universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking organizations for Honesdale entrepreneurs.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Honesdale. 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 Honesdale 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 Honesdale, Pennsylvania

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

More Startup Articles for Pennsylvania Cities

Starting a Business in Holmes
Starting a Business in Horsham

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Pennsylvania
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