The work aimed at determining relationships between an assessment made by entrepreneurs of an effect of competitive firms on economic activity and success factors as well as the factors that hinder starting up and running a firm. The study included 137 entrepreneurs conducting economic activity in urban-rural gminas (communes) of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodship. Analysis of empirical material was carried out utilizing the rank correlation coefficient with one dichotomic variable. According to the entrepreneurs who run businesses on both the local and supra-local market, the factors that hinder starting up and running a firm included competitive firms and unfair competition. Entrepreneurs gain information about the market from local sources and conducting activity on local markets ranked higher an impact of competitive firms.