Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Troy, Pennsylvania

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

What Type of Business Should You Start?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you 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 Bed & Breakfast Reservations Business guide or our Starting a Records Searchers Business guide.

Always keep in mind that Troy is the place where you are starting a business. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Troy. Only by spending some time analyzing Troy demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Troy, Pennsylvania Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
4080
5-9 Employees
1440
10-19 Employees
1080
20-49 Employees
405
50-99 Employees
180
100-249 Employees
135
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Troy Businesses
7320

As a new Troy entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Troy 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
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Bowling Centers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
2
Community Food Services
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Family Clothing Stores
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
1
Floor Covering Stores
1
Fluid Milk Manufacturing
1
Framing Contractors
2
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
5
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Heating Oil Dealers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
4
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
3
Logging
1
Masonry Contractors
1
Meat Markets
1
New Car Dealers
5
Newspaper Publishers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Dentists
3
Offices of Lawyers
5
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
1
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
1
Portfolio Management
1
Radio Stations
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
2
Residential Remodelers
1
Rooming and Boarding Houses
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
5
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Shoe Stores
2
Siding Contractors
1
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Troy 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 Troy.

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

Choosing a Company Name

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.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Troy, it's critical that you ensure that no other Pennsylvania company is using the business name you want to use.

Company Formation in Troy, Pennsylvania

It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The main advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

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

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 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's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Nevada Incorporation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Troy, Pennsylvania, our information on Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your Troy business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled 504 Loans.

For Troy entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Pennsylvania Angel Investors and our List of Pennsylvania Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

To grow your Troy business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

We have some great resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Marketing Basics is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Next Steps

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

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

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Troy and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Troy, Pennsylvania

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

More Business Startup Guides for Pennsylvania

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Starting a Business in Tunkhannock

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Pennsylvania
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