Connecticut Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Bristol, Connecticut
Need help starting a business in Bristol, Connecticut? We've got the information you need to open a business in Bristol.
Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?
Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Bristol. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
Bristol, Connecticut Demographic Information
Bristol has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Bristol demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Bristol.
Businesses
As a new Bristol entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bristol 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 Franchising Opportunities?
As you drive around Bristol, 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. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Franchising Pros and Cons. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Pepe's Mexican Restaurants and Dreamland BBQ Ribs. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Healthcare Franchises and Miscellaneous Franchises.
Note on Bristol Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Bristol.
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Bristol Business?
We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Connecticut. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Bristol.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Forming a Company in Bristol, Connecticut
It's very important that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. The main advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Connecticut, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Connecticut. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as C Corp Versus S Corp. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Bristol, Connecticut, our information on Incorporating in Connecticut may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Connecticut.
The Art of Selling
Being able to sell is essential to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Bristol or are selling to customers throughout Connecticut, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Closing Sales is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Bristol. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Bristol businesses to be successful. 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.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Bristol, Connecticut
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Bristol.
- Resources for Bristol, Connecticut Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bristol entrepreneurs.
- Connecticut Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Connecticut.
- Connecticut Small Business Development Center - Central Connecticut State University's Institute of Technology and Business Development (ITBD) supports Connecticut businesses and business-related organizations with training, technology assistance, conferencing services, procurement services and business incubation.
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