Opening a Business in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Contemplating starting a business in Cambridge, Massachusetts? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Cambridge.

Cambridge, Massachusetts 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.

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.

Should You Buy an Existing Cambridge Business?

We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Massachusetts. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Cambridge.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.

Choosing a Company Name

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.

Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Cambridge, it's very important that you make sure no Massachusetts company has already registered the company name you have selected.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Obtaining startup financing for your Cambridge business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

Take advantage of our many articles on finding startup capital, such as Realistic Debt Financing Options.

For Cambridge entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, you'll want to take a look at our List of Massachusetts Angel Investors and our List of Massachusetts Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

To rise above the crowd in Cambridge and build your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Promoting an Online Business is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Ramping Up Sales

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Cambridge or are selling to customers throughout Massachusetts, 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. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Selling Stuff on the Web offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

What's Next?

You have a dream -- starting a business in Cambridge. 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 Cambridge businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Cambridge 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 Cambridge, Massachusetts

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Cambridge.

• Resources for Cambridge, Massachusetts Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Cambridge entrepreneurs.
• Massachusetts Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Massachusetts.
• Massachusetts Small Business Development Center - The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network provides one-to-one free comprehensive and confidential services focusing on, business growth and strategies, financing and loan assistance as well as strategic, marketing and operational analysis.
• Cambridge, Massachusetts Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Cambridge, Massachusetts newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Cambridge area.
• Cambridge, Massachusetts Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Cambridge, Massachusetts area radio stations.
• Cambridge, Massachusetts Payroll Services - This list includes Cambridge, Massachusetts payroll services, national payroll services for Cambridge, and helpful information on choosing a Cambridge payroll service.
• Cambridge, Massachusetts Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Cambridge, Massachusetts, such as business brokers in Cambridge and other helpful information on how to buy a Cambridge business.