Virginia Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Leesburg, Virginia

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

What Business to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 Opening a Men's Uniforms Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide or our How to Start a Prosthetic Eyes Business guide.

Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Leesburg. Some businesses will do better in Leesburg than others. Study Leesburg demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Leesburg, Virginia Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
15924
5-9 Employees
5724
10-19 Employees
3870
20-49 Employees
2646
50-99 Employees
864
100-249 Employees
396
250-499 Employees
36
500-999 Employees
18
1000+ Employees
36
All Leesburg Businesses
29514

As a new Leesburg entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Leesburg 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
Advertising Agencies
4
Aircraft Manufacturing
1
Ambulance Services
2
Architectural Services
7
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
19
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Book Publishers
1
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
3
Business Associations
4
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Cheese Manufacturing
1
Child Day Care Services
14
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
4
Civic and Social Organizations
3
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Commercial Photography
2
Community Food Services
1
Computer Facilities Management Services
4
Computer Systems Design Services
45
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
2
Convenience Stores
4
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
2
Couriers
2
Credit Unions
2
Custom Computer Programming Services
30
Dance Companies
1
Dental Laboratories
2
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
3
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
2
Discount Department Stores
3
Display Advertising
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
2
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
10
Electronic Computer Manufacturing
1
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
4
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
3
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
20
Family Planning Centers
1
Fine Arts Schools
4
Finish Carpentry Contractors
10
Flight Training
1
Floor Covering Stores
7
Flooring Contractors
2
Florists
4
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
4
Food Service Contractors
2
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
38
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
12
General Automotive Repair
10
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
8
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
3
Grantmaking Foundations
3
Graphic Design Services
9
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Heating Oil Dealers
1
HMO Medical Centers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
6
Home Centers
1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
3
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
1
Industrial Building Construction
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
29
Internet Service Providers
5
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
4
Janitorial Services
24
Jewelry Stores
14
Landscaping Services
22
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
29
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
2
Locksmiths
2
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
2
Machine Shops
2
Marketing Consulting Services
10
Masonry Contractors
5
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
6
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
3
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Museums
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
2
Nail Salons
2
New Car Dealers
9
New Housing Operative Builders
6
Newspaper Publishers
5
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Office Administrative Services
7
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
5
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
15
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
35
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
3
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
4
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Optical Goods Stores
5
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
3
Passenger Car Rental
1
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
3
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
5
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
5
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Political Organizations
1
Portfolio Management
2
Private Mail Centers
2
Professional Organizations
3
Public Relations Agencies
3
Quick Printing
1
Radio Stations
3
Real Estate Credit
7
Real Estate Investment Trusts
1
Residential Property Managers
6
Residential Remodelers
21
Retail Bakeries
1
Savings Institutions
3
Sawmills
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Shoe Stores
18
Siding Contractors
1
Silverware and Hollowware Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
9
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
7
Software Publishers
2
Sports and Recreation Instruction
6
Tax Preparation Services
2
Taxi Service
2
Temporary Help Services
2
Temporary Shelters
2
Testing Laboratories
2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
12
Tobacco Stores
3
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
5
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Used Merchandise Stores
7
Veterinary Services
8
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
6
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wineries
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
6
Women's Clothing Stores
18

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Leesburg Business?

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

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

Company Formation in Leesburg, Virginia

A critical step is ensuring that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as 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. Just because you are starting a business in Virginia, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Virginia. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Pre-Incorporation Agreements. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Leesburg, Virginia, our web page covering Incorporating in Virginia may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Virginia.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Software. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Virginia.

Bring in Revenues

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Leesburg business, you need to focus on sales.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Writing Great Proposals is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

Good entrepreneurs know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

With your business being located in Leesburg, Virginia, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby Virginia universities, colleges and community colleges. Another way to keep up on your learning is to investigate networking organizations for Leesburg entrepreneurs.

Next Steps

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Leesburg and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Leesburg, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Leesburg, Virginia

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Virginia

Starting a Business in Lebanon
Starting a Business in Lexington

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

 

 

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