Pennsylvania Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in York, Pennsylvania
Are you starting a business in York, Pennsylvania? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in York.
Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?
Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you positive you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in York. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
What Business Are You Starting?
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 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 Opening an Accounting and Finance Software Company guide or our How to Start a Weight Loss & Control Equipment & Supplies Business guide.
Remember that you are starting a business in York. Some businesses will do better in York than others. Study York demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
York, Pennsylvania Demographic Information
York has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for York demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in York.
Businesses
As a new York entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in York 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
Forming a Company in York, Pennsylvania
A critical step is ensuring that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. 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. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Pennsylvania, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Pennsylvania. As it turns out, you are allowed to incorporate in any state you would like to. 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 Getting an EIN. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in York, Pennsylvania, our information on Incorporating in Pennsylvania may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Pennsylvania.
Raising Money for Your Venture
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your York business is not an easy task. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.
For York entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Pennsylvania Angel Investors and our List of Pennsylvania Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Venture
To grow your York business, you need a great marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Marketing Versus Sales is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
Successful entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.
As an entrepreneur who lives in York, Pennsylvania, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Pennsylvania universities, colleges and community colleges. We also suggest you look into York networking organizations.
Interviews With York Entrepreneurs
We're compiling a number of interviews with York entrepreneurs. Enjoy!
Never Give Up
As an entrepreneur in York, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in York and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new York 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 York, Pennsylvania
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in York.
- Resources for York, Pennsylvania Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist York 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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