Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania

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

What Business to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Free Business Ideas.

To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Tank Installation & Removal Business guide or our How to Start a Carpet Sculpturing & Designing Business guide.

Remember that you are starting a business in Mount Joy. If Mount Joy already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Study Mount Joy demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Mount Joy, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
453
5-9 Employees
180
10-19 Employees
135
20-49 Employees
87
50-99 Employees
48
100-249 Employees
18
250-499 Employees
9
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Mount Joy Businesses
930

As a new Mount Joy entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Mount Joy 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
Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting)
1
Ambulance Services
1
Amusement Arcades
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
5
Beauty Salons
3
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
2
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
1
Caterers
3
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
4
Civic and Social Organizations
3
Commercial Flexographic Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Computer Training
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
2
Electrical Contractors
6
Electronic Connector Manufacturing
1
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Engineering Services
2
Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders
1
Fine Arts Schools
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Florists
1
Flour Milling
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
12
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
2
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
4
Interior Design Services
1
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
1
Iron and Steel Mills
1
Jewelry Stores
2
Land Subdivision
2
Landscaping Services
10
Libraries and Archives
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
8
Machine Shops
3
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Masonry Contractors
4
Meat Markets
1
Metal Stamping
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
New Car Dealers
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Lawyers
1
Offices of Optometrists
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
2
Powder Metallurgy Part Manufacturing
1
Residential Remodelers
4
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
1
Savings Institutions
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Tire Dealers
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
4
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
2
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2

Naming the Business

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.

Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.

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

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Mount Joy, it's imperative that you check now that no other Pennsylvania company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

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

Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will 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. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

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 Offshore Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, our information on Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Having a business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Starting a business without a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

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

Bring in Revenues

Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Mount Joy business to do well.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Mastering the Complex Sale offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Moving Forward

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

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

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

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania

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

More Startup Articles for Pennsylvania Cities

Starting a Business in Moscow
Starting a Business in Mountain Top

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