Thinking about starting a business in Cambridge, Maryland? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Cambridge.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Most new ventures fail, in part because the business owner did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Cambridge. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being 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. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Cambridge, Maryland Demographic Information
Cambridge has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Cambridge demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Cambridge.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
10660 |
| 5-9 Employees |
4485 |
| 10-19 Employees |
2964 |
| 20-49 Employees |
1989 |
| 50-99 Employees |
351 |
| 100-249 Employees |
351 |
| 250-499 Employees |
39 |
| 500-999 Employees |
78 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Cambridge Businesses |
20917 |
As a new Cambridge entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Cambridge 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 |
| Aluminum Die-Casting Foundries |
1 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
3 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
3 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
|
Beauty Salons |
7 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
| Boat Building |
3 |
| Boat Dealers |
3 |
| Books Printing |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
1 |
|
Business Associations |
3 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Canvas and Related Product Mills |
1 |
| Car Washes |
2 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
8 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
9 |
|
Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Convenience Stores |
2 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
3 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
1 |
|
Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
1 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
6 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
2 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
|
Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fish and Seafood Markets |
2 |
| Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
4 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
2 |
|
Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Fresh and Frozen Seafood Processing |
4 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Canning |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
12 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
3 |
| Furniture Stores |
1 |
|
General Automotive Repair |
7 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
4 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
2 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
2 |
|
Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Hunting and Trapping |
1 |
| Ice Manufacturing |
1 |
| Industrial Design Services |
1 |
| Industrial Gas Manufacturing |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
15 |
|
Janitorial Services |
3 |
| Jewelry Stores |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
6 |
| Lead Pencil and Art Good Manufacturing |
1 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
2 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
12 |
| Linen Supply |
1 |
|
Machine Shops |
3 |
| Marinas |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
6 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
1 |
| Mobile Food Services |
1 |
| Museums |
2 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
|
New Car Dealers |
2 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nitrogenous Fertilizer Manufacturing |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
5 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
5 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
2 |
|
Offices of Dentists |
8 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
10 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
1 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
6 |
|
Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
2 |
| Residential Remodelers |
10 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
4 |
| Secondary Market Financing |
1 |
|
Securities Brokerage |
1 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Ship Building and Repairing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
5 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
2 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Special Needs Transportation |
1 |
|
Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Support Activities for Forestry |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
3 |
| Telecommunications Resellers |
2 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Testing Laboratories |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
2 |
| Tire Dealers |
3 |
|
Translation and Interpretation Services |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
4 |
| Veterinary Services |
2 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
2 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
3 |
|
Women's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
1 |
Have You Considered Franchising?
As you drive around Cambridge, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?
We highly recommend you look into purchasing a franchise. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Before Buying a Franchise. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Safe Kids Card and Tilden Car Care Centers. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Children's Franchises and Pest Control Franchises.
Note on Cambridge Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Cambridge, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
Should You Buy an Existing Cambridge Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Maryland. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Cambridge.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Company Formation in Cambridge, Maryland
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will protect you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporation 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. Just because you are starting a business in Maryland, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Maryland. As it turns out, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Where to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Cambridge, Maryland, our information on Incorporating in Maryland may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Maryland.
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, 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.
Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Outsourcing. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Maryland.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Cambridge business will be harder than you might expect. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.
Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled 504 Loans.
For Cambridge entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, you'll want to take a look at our List of Maryland Angel Investors and our List of Maryland Venture Capital Firms.
What's Next?
Most new Cambridge businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Cambridge businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Cambridge, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Cambridge, Maryland
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Cambridge.
- Resources for Cambridge, Maryland Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Cambridge 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.
- Cambridge, Maryland Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Cambridge, Maryland newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Cambridge area.
- Cambridge, Maryland Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Cambridge, Maryland area radio stations.
- Cambridge, Maryland Payroll Services - This list includes Cambridge, Maryland payroll services, national payroll services for Cambridge, and helpful information on choosing a Cambridge payroll service.
- Cambridge, Maryland Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Cambridge, Maryland, such as business brokers in Cambridge and other helpful information on how to buy a Cambridge business.
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