Maryland Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Bowie, Maryland
Thinking about starting a business in Bowie, Maryland? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Bowie.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
Being an entrepreneur is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you positive you are ready to take on this challenge?
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Bowie. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Bowie, Maryland Demographic Information
Bowie has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Bowie demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Bowie.
Businesses
As a new Bowie entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bowie 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
What About Buying an Existing Bowie Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Maryland. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Bowie.
If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Naming the Company
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.
Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.
On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Bowie, it's critical that you ensure that your company name has not already been claimed by another Maryland business.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Expert Advice on Business Plans. You should also take advantage of free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Maryland.
Raising Capital for Your Venture
Raising money to fund your new Bowie business is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.
For Bowie entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Maryland Angel Investors and our List of Maryland Venture Capital Firms.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Bowie, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Bowie businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Bowie 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 Bowie, Maryland
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Bowie.
- Resources for Bowie, Maryland Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bowie entrepreneurs.
- Maryland Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Maryland.
- Maryland Small Business Development Center - The Maryland Small Business Development Center Network has six regional offices and more than 20 locations where Maryland entrepreneurs can receive comprehensive, resources and relevant assistance.
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