Business is Booming

2026 has been a banner year for Marco-based commercial start-ups, based on data compiled by a company that specializes in tracking new business filings in Florida. 

There were 400 new businesses registered on the island, January through September, according to Ben Thalman, founder of FiledToday, headquartered in Punta Gorda in Charlotte County. That total is the most in at least a decade and represents a 22 percent increase over the same time period in 2025. 

That rise is mirrored by the company’s statistics for the entire state, which indicate an overall bullish view by entrepreneurs of Florida’s economic prospects. 

“People are confident enough to bet on themselves,” said Thalman. “Statewide, 474,039 new Florida-based businesses registered from January through September, a record and up 5.8 percent from last year, and Marco Island’s 22 percent jump is almost four times that pace. Most of these are small service businesses, which tend to pop up when people see steady local demand. A registration is only a first step, of course, but Marco’s track record is good: 64 percent of the island’s businesses formed in 2023 are still active, compared with 47 percent statewide.”

Of the new businesses started on Marco, restaurants, cafes and other food purveyors topped the list with 11 start-ups, compared to just one over that nine-month period in 2025. Next were: 

Consulting and advisory firms - 15, up from seven

Fishing charters and other marine businesses -12, up from five

Marketing and media companies - 12, up from five

Real estate companies - 22, up from 15

Home services like cleaning, painting and landscaping - 16, up from 10

Home watch companies – Six, up from one

LLCs named after a specific address or condo unit, usually created for home or condo ownership - 41, up from 32

However, there was one decrease as construction and roofing companies declined from 17 to 10.

Most of the start-ups were of the mom-and-pop variety, he explained, with 87 percent registered as LLCs, which are commonly used by small business owners and solo entrepreneurs to shield personal assets from business debts and lawsuits. 

Of the Marco-registered new businesses from that time period, about eight in 10 have at least one owner with an address on the island and roughly 12 percent are owned by out-of-state residents. He said that about one quarter of the filings appear to be property holding companies, rather than businesses with a storefront.

Thalman described the mix of businesses as being indicative of what has spurred the increase, both locally and throughout the state.

“Construction filings are down from last year, while restaurants, home services, fishing charters and other businesses that serve residents and visitors are up,” he said. “To me that looks like an island moving past storm rebuilding and back to everyday growth. We’re also seeing more LLCs set up to own a single home or condo, and more home watch companies, which points to steady demand from second-home and seasonal owners. And Marco is riding a statewide wave. Florida is having its best year ever for new businesses.”

FiledToday compiles data by tracking new business registrations daily in the state Division of Corporations. That information is converted into lists used by Florida-based companies that work with brand-new businesses, like bankers, payment processors, payroll companies, insurance agents, business bankers, merchant services reps, bookkeepers and accountants, and more. Free Florida new-business statistics are also available on the company’s website.

The company started October of 2025, which plays a key role in the nine-month timeframe it uses.

“When we put the study together in October, September was the most recent full month of state data, so we compared January through September of each year to keep it apples to apples,” said Thalman.”

When asked to provide an outlook for the coming year, he said he’s wary about predicting the future, “but the signs are good.

“Marco is on its strongest pace in at least a decade, and the growth is spread across many different kinds of businesses rather than one boom,” he said. “What I’ll be watching is whether restaurant and service openings keep climbing now that construction has cooled off.”

For more information about FiledToday and to view its data and reports, please visit https://filedtoday.com/reports/florida-new-business-record-2026. To contact Ben Thalman, please write to ben@filedtoday.com.