Thinking about starting a business in Dickinson, North Dakota? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Dickinson.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? We recommend that you read Free Business Ideas.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Primary Batteries Business guide or our Opening a Private Duty Nurses Business guide.
Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Dickinson. Some businesses will do better in Dickinson than others. A critical consideration is whether Dickinson demographics mesh well with your startup concept.
Dickinson, North Dakota Demographic Information
Dickinson has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Dickinson demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Dickinson.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
2408 |
| 5-9 Employees |
1074 |
| 10-19 Employees |
624 |
| 20-49 Employees |
372 |
| 50-99 Employees |
126 |
| 100-249 Employees |
48 |
| 250-499 Employees |
12 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Dickinson Businesses |
4664 |
As a new Dickinson entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Dickinson 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 |
1 |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
2 |
| Architectural Services |
3 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
6 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
|
Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
8 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
5 |
| Boat Dealers |
2 |
| Book Stores |
2 |
| Bowling Centers |
2 |
|
Building Inspection Services |
2 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
2 |
| Child and Youth Services |
3 |
| Child Day Care Services |
21 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
7 |
|
Clothing Accessories Stores |
2 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
2 |
| Collection Agencies |
2 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Commodity Contracts Brokerage |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
3 |
| Convention and Visitors Bureaus |
1 |
|
Couriers |
4 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
2 |
| Drilling Oil and Gas Wells |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
8 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
3 |
|
Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
9 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
3 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
3 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
2 |
|
Farm Management Services |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
4 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
1 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
2 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
2 |
|
Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Formal Wear and Costume Rental |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
18 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
4 |
| Furniture Stores |
4 |
| General Automotive Repair |
10 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
|
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
6 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
4 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
2 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
3 |
|
Institutional Furniture Manufacturing |
3 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
21 |
| Internet Service Providers |
2 |
| Iron and Steel Mills |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
9 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
6 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
14 |
|
Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
1 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
3 |
| Marking Device Manufacturing |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
3 |
| Materials Recovery Facilities |
1 |
| Meat Markets |
2 |
| Media Representatives |
1 |
|
Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Museums |
2 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
1 |
|
New Car Dealers |
6 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
3 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
9 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
9 |
| Offices of Dentists |
9 |
|
Offices of Lawyers |
12 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
4 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
2 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
2 |
| Periodical Publishers |
1 |
|
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
7 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
3 |
| Portfolio Management |
2 |
| Professional Organizations |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
2 |
| Radio Stations |
3 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
2 |
|
Real Estate Credit |
1 |
| Real Estate Investment Trusts |
1 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
1 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
2 |
| Residential Remodelers |
3 |
| Retail Bakeries |
2 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
|
Roofing Contractors |
4 |
| Savings Institutions |
2 |
| Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
7 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
2 |
| Shoe Stores |
3 |
| Siding Contractors |
3 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
|
Site Preparation Contractors |
3 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
6 |
| Software Publishers |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
6 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
|
Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Television Broadcasting |
2 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Testing Laboratories |
1 |
| Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
5 |
| Tire Retreading |
1 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
2 |
|
Travel Agencies |
5 |
| Used Car Dealers |
4 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
3 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
3 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
3 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
4 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
4 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Dickinson Business?
We've created a useful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in North Dakota. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Dickinson.
If you are intent on buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Find Sample Business Plans Online. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in North Dakota.
Marketing Your New Startup
To grow your Dickinson business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Advertising on the Web is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Bring in Revenues
Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Dickinson or are selling to customers throughout North Dakota, 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.
Hiring Good Sales People is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Dickinson. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Dickinson and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Dickinson, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Dickinson, North Dakota
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Dickinson.
- Resources for Dickinson, North Dakota Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Dickinson entrepreneurs.
- North Dakota Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in North Dakota.
- North Dakota Small Business Development Center - The North Dakota Small Business Development Center's mission is to provide high quality business assistance in the form of counseling, training, and research to existing and prospective North Dakota small businesses.
- Dickinson, North Dakota Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Dickinson, North Dakota newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Dickinson area.
- Dickinson, North Dakota Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Dickinson, North Dakota area radio stations.
- Dickinson, North Dakota Payroll Services - This list includes Dickinson, North Dakota payroll services, national payroll services for Dickinson, and helpful information on choosing a Dickinson payroll service.
- Dickinson, North Dakota Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Dickinson, North Dakota, such as business brokers in Dickinson and other helpful information on how to buy a Dickinson business.
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