What does this section of the Business plan about the Number of Business Establishments by Industry section talk about? And why is it important to have this in a business plan for Lights On Electrical, Inc.?

The Number of Business Establishments by Industry analysis is a breakdown of the total number of establishments in Cuyahoga into the major industry sectors. This analysis is key since it gives the reader of the business plan as well as the small business owner conducting the analysis, a clear idea of the economic composition of the target market of Cuyahoga. Thus if you are in the Construction business, you will be able to see just how many other firms in your target market are also in the construction industry. Even if you are in a business other than construction this one table and graphic gives a great summary view of the total economic landscape about just how many business establishments do what in your target market.

Lets say that you are contemplating starting a professional services business in Cuyahoga, Ohio, and after conducting this research you find that the number of professional services businesses in your target market as a proportion of total businesses, are much lower than those in the State of Ohio, you now know that you have a decent chance of making a name for yourself since the local market place is not getting the professional services coverage that they may be needing and thus there may more demand for your services in the target market than elsewhere.

What is the Number of Business Establishments by Industry analysis for Cuyahoga compared to?

The number of Business Establishments by Industry Analysis for Cuyahoga is compared to a similar analysis for the state of Ohio. The reason for this comparison of course is the fact that if we don't compare the number and proportion of business establishments from each industry in the target market to a similar number for the state or region, we will never be able to understand the deviations and discrepancies that exist in the data. Comparison of the percentage of establishments by industry to state averages is an excellent way to find out which industry sectors dominate more in a target market like Cuyahoga and which sectors are not well represented there.

In order to conduct our analysis we have categorized the number of business sectors by industry into the following classifications:

1. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Agricultural, Mining and Forestry Industries.
2. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Construction Industry.
3. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Manufacturing Industry.
4. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Wholesale Trade Industry.
5. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Retail Trade Industry.
6. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Transportation and Warehousing Industries.
7. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Information Industry.
8. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Industries.
9. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Professional Services Industry.
10. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Administrative Services Industry.
11. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Education Industry.
12. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Health Care Industry.
13. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Arts and Entertainment Industries.
14. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Accommodations and Food Services Industries.
15. Number and Percentage of Business Establishments in Cuyahoga and Ohio that belong to the Other services industry.

Why do the agricultural, mining, fishing and manufacturing establishments always seem to be a small proportion of the economic landscape?

Over the last 50 or so years, the nature of our economy has been changing slowly but surely. We have gone from being an agricultural, mining, fishing and manufacturing based economy to a services oriented economy. This is especially true in the case of manufacturing, where more and more production has been going overseas for the past 30 years. Prior to that however, businesses used to move from high cost production areas like the major metropolitan areas to regions of the country where the cost of doing business was much cheaper. The states and cities of the south and mid-west are a classic example of how businesses relocated manufacturing and other jobs moved here.

Agricultural businesses are still prevalent in the mid-west but for the most part they are almost non-existent in the ex-burbs of our major metropolitan areas. Likewise establishments that support the mining industry can only be found in those parts of the country where there are mines. The Appalachian belt is a classic example - in target markets located around the area where coal mines still dominate the landscape, you will find a lot of mining jobs. Fishing industry establishments obviously tend to be very close to water and predominate on the eastern and western seaboards along with the gulf shore.

There are many retail establishments in my target market - does that mean that I will have a tough time being successful in the retail business?

The short answer is yes. The more competition you have, the smaller the pie you and everybody else is fighting for. But just because there are more establishments in your target market does not automatically mean that there are too many of them. To get an even more accurate view of the competitive landscape we recommend that you take a look at the retail establishments per capita by dividing the total number of retail establishments by the population of the target market - that will give you a very good idea of what your competition will be like. And again, you will need to do more research into the specific kinds of retail establishments in the target market to determine if you may be able to come up with a niche that has not yet been filled. For example if there are very few pet stores in your target market and you are looking to start a new pet store, you may be able to do well.

Sometimes you don't have a choice about where to set up your business - the industry concentration determines that for you. A simple example of this is the pharmaceutical industry. If you are setting up a consulting services business where you intend to provide consultancy services for product marketing to pharmaceutical companies in the New York Metro area, you will most probably have to take a very compelling look at locating in central New Jersey, since that is where many of the large and leading pharmaceutical companies are located. It could be to your detriment being too far from your potential customers.

Just as we advised our client Andy Powell of Lights On Electrical, Inc. - just because there are many competitors does not mean that you cannot carve out a name for yourself. In the end, high quality service and products at a reasonable price is what the market place usually wants and as long as you can be the business that provides that to your clients - you will always do well. A clear example of this in the furniture retail market is Bob's discount stores in the New York metro area which has done an impressive job of coming into a very crowded and competitive market place and making a good name for themselves in a few years.

Quick Links:

1. Go to the Corresponding Template section for this industry.
2. Go to the Corresponding Business Plan section for this industry.