Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Saint Marys, Pennsylvania

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

What Type of Business Should You Start?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading How to Evaluate a Business Idea.

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 Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Don't forget that starting a business in Saint Marys has some implications. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Saint Marys. Only by spending some time analyzing Saint Marys demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Saint Marys, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3450
5-9 Employees
1800
10-19 Employees
1005
20-49 Employees
705
50-99 Employees
165
100-249 Employees
210
250-499 Employees
75
500-999 Employees
15
1000+ Employees
0
All Saint Marys Businesses
7425

As a new Saint Marys entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Saint Marys 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
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Beauty Salons
8
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Breweries
1
Business Associations
1
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
9
Construction Machinery Manufacturing
1
Consumer Lending
2
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
3
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
8
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electronic Resistor Manufacturing
2
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
4
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
2
Family Planning Centers
1
Florists
3
Food Service Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
2
Full-Service Restaurants
9
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
9
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Home Centers
3
Home Health Care Services
2
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Building Construction
1
Industrial Launderers
1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
3
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
8
Internet Service Providers
1
Janitorial Services
1
Jewelry Stores
1
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Libraries and Archives
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
11
Logging
2
Machine Shops
15
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Metal Heat Treating
3
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
Natural Gas Distribution
2
New Car Dealers
4
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
6
Offices of Dentists
5
Offices of Lawyers
7
Offices of Optometrists
3
Optical Goods Stores
2
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Passenger Car Rental
1
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Portfolio Management
1
Powder Metallurgy Part Manufacturing
8
Radio Networks
1
Radio Stations
2
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Remodelers
11
Rolled Steel Shape Manufacturing
2
Sales Financing
1
Sawmills
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
3
Securities Brokerage
2
Shoe Stores
2
Site Preparation Contractors
6
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Solid Waste Collection
2
Spring (Light Gauge) Manufacturing
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Tire Dealers
1
Tortilla Manufacturing
1
Travel Agencies
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Vending Machine Operators
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
2
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
3
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

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.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Getting your Saint Marys business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Angel Investors.

For Saint Marys entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Pennsylvania Angel Investors and our List of Pennsylvania Venture Capital Firms.

Bring in Revenues

Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Saint Marys business to do well.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Cold Call Selling is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

Good business owners recognize that they don't know everything.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Saint Marys, Pennsylvania, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Pennsylvania universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also wise to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Saint Marys entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Never Give Up

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

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

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Saint Marys and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Saint Marys entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Saint Marys, Pennsylvania

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Pennsylvania

Starting a Business in Robesonia
Starting a Business in Saxton

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