Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Somerset, Pennsylvania
Contemplating starting a business in Somerset, Pennsylvania? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Somerset.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Most new businesses don't make it, in part because the founder did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Somerset. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Somerset, Pennsylvania Demographic Information
Somerset has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Somerset demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Somerset.
Businesses
As a new Somerset entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Somerset 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.
Businesses
Is Franchising a Better Option?
Examine a list of Somerset businesses and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Protecting Your Franchise Territory. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.
Representative franchise opportunities include Natural Awakenings and Planet Smoothie. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Juice Bar Franchises / Smoothie Franchises and Pizza Franchises.
Note on Somerset Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Somerset.
Forming a Company in Somerset, 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 corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
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. As it turns out, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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 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 Subchapter S Corporations. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Somerset, Pennsylvania, our information on Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
Creating a business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Outsourcing. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Pennsylvania.
Startup Financing Basics
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Somerset business 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.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.
For Somerset entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Pennsylvania Angel Investors and our List of Pennsylvania Venture Capital Firms.
Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge
The best entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Somerset, Pennsylvania, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Pennsylvania universities, colleges and community colleges. We also recommend you look into Somerset networking organizations.
Next Steps
Most new Somerset 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.
We are here to help Somerset businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Somerset, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Somerset, Pennsylvania
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Somerset.
- Resources for Somerset, Pennsylvania Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Somerset entrepreneurs.
- Pennsylvania Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Pennsylvania.
- Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center - Pennsylvania SBDCs help aspiring entrepreneurs turn ideas into businesses, help small firms expand, and provide the information every business person needs to make critical decisions. There is no charge for their assistance and their free help can make the difference between business success and failure.
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