Contemplating starting a business in Bozeman, Montana? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Bozeman.
Before you get too far along in the process, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Finding Your Niche in Life.
Don't forget that your new business will be in Bozeman. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Bozeman. Study Bozeman demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Bozeman has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Bozeman demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Bozeman.
As a new Bozeman entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bozeman 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.
| Business Type |
# of
Businesses |
| Advertising Agencies |
8 |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Amusement Arcades |
1 |
| Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
2 |
| Architectural Services |
45 |
| Armored Car Services |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
10 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
3 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
8 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
3 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
3 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
22 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
4 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
3 |
| Book Publishers |
4 |
| Book Stores |
5 |
| Bowling Centers |
2 |
| Breweries |
1 |
| Broom, Brush, and Mop Manufacturing |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
5 |
| Business Associations |
6 |
| Business to Business Electronic Markets |
1 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Canvas and Related Product Mills |
1 |
| Car Washes |
7 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
6 |
| Casino Hotels |
1 |
| Caterers |
6 |
| Child and Youth Services |
5 |
| Child Day Care Services |
37 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
9 |
| Claims Adjusting |
4 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
2 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
4 |
| Collection Agencies |
2 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
4 |
| Commercial Photography |
3 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
4 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
10 |
| Computer Training |
1 |
| Consumer Lending |
5 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
2 |
| Convention and Trade Show Organizers |
1 |
| Copper Wire (except Mechanical) Drawing |
1 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
1 |
| Couriers |
3 |
| Court Reporting and Stenotype Services |
3 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Curtain and Drapery Mills |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
28 |
| Dance Companies |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
4 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
2 |
| Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Direct Mail Advertising |
1 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
2 |
| Discount Department Stores |
3 |
| Document Preparation Services |
5 |
| Drafting Services |
3 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
21 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
19 |
| Educational Support Services |
2 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
42 |
| Electronic Shopping |
6 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
8 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
3 |
| Engineering Services |
58 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
18 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
17 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
5 |
| Finfish Fishing |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
25 |
| Fish and Seafood Markets |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
7 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
9 |
| Flooring Contractors |
8 |
| Florists |
4 |
| Fluid Milk Manufacturing |
1 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
3 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Footwear and Leather Goods Repair |
2 |
| Footwear Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Framing Contractors |
25 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
58 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
15 |
| General Automotive Repair |
26 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
4 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
3 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
16 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
2 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
4 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
7 |
| Graphic Design Services |
14 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
3 |
| Hardware Stores |
3 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
3 |
| Home Centers |
3 |
| Home Health Care Services |
4 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
2 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
7 |
| Hunting and Trapping |
1 |
| Hydroelectric Power Generation |
1 |
| Industrial Design Services |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
44 |
| Interior Design Services |
9 |
| Internet Service Providers |
3 |
| Investigation Services |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
11 |
| Iron and Steel Forging |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
28 |
| Jewelry Stores |
13 |
| Land Subdivision |
11 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
5 |
| Landscaping Services |
50 |
| Language Schools |
1 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
7 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
53 |
| Limousine Service |
1 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
3 |
| Locksmiths |
2 |
| Logging |
4 |
| Luggage and Leather Goods Stores |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
6 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
2 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
3 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
14 |
| Masonry Contractors |
17 |
| Mattress Manufacturing |
1 |
| Meat Markets |
3 |
| Meat Processed from Carcasses |
2 |
| Media Representatives |
2 |
| Medical Laboratories |
3 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
2 |
| Mobile Food Services |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
9 |
| Motion Picture and Video Distribution |
1 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
6 |
| Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
3 |
| Museums |
4 |
| Musical Groups and Artists |
3 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Musical Instrument Manufacturing |
1 |
| Nail Salons |
2 |
| New Car Dealers |
7 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
14 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
3 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
10 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
3 |
| Office Administrative Services |
11 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
4 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
29 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
20 |
| Offices of Dentists |
40 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
72 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
8 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
2 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
15 |
| One-Hour Photofinishing |
1 |
| Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
5 |
| Packing and Crating |
1 |
| Paging |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
5 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
42 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Periodical Publishers |
4 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
3 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
2 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
3 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
5 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
10 |
| Portfolio Management |
4 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
1 |
| Professional Organizations |
3 |
| Public Relations Agencies |
2 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
9 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
2 |
| Real Estate Credit |
15 |
| Record Production |
1 |
| Recreational Goods Rental |
2 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
4 |
| Residential Property Managers |
11 |
| Residential Remodelers |
31 |
| Retail Bakeries |
3 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
5 |
| Roofing Contractors |
11 |
| Rooming and Boarding Houses |
5 |
| Rope, Cordage, and Twine Mills |
1 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
| Satellite Telecommunications |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
4 |
| Sawmills |
2 |
| Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation |
1 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
2 |
| Securities Brokerage |
17 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
2 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
2 |
| Shoe Stores |
7 |
| Siding Contractors |
9 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
3 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
21 |
| Skiing Facilities |
2 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
16 |
| Soft Drink Manufacturing |
1 |
| Software Publishers |
4 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Sound Recording Studios |
1 |
| Special Needs Transportation |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
28 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
12 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
2 |
| Television Broadcasting |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
5 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Testing Laboratories |
6 |
| Textile Bag Mills |
1 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
5 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
13 |
| Tire Dealers |
5 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
3 |
| Tobacco Stores |
2 |
| Toilet Preparation Manufacturing |
1 |
| Tour Operators |
4 |
| Travel Agencies |
8 |
| Used Car Dealers |
8 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
2 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
15 |
| Veterinary Services |
13 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
3 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
3 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
2 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
12 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
2 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
3 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
10 |
| Wood Preservation |
1 |
| Zoos and Botanical Gardens |
1 |
As you drive around Bozeman, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?
We highly recommend you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchise Law. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Bozeman or are selling to customers throughout Montana, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
The best business owners know that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Bozeman, Montana, you should check out some of the learning programs at local Montana educational institutions. You should also check if there are any Bozeman networking organizations.
You have a dream -- starting a business in Bozeman. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Bozeman and elsewhere to achieve real success. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Bozeman.
