Starting a Business in Edgartown, Massachusetts

Thinking about starting a business in Edgartown, Massachusetts? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Edgartown.

Is Becoming a Business Owner Right for You?

Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Edgartown. Get their take on what it's really like to be 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. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

What Business Are You Starting?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Free Business Ideas.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Don't forget that Edgartown is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in Edgartown than others. Don't forget to review Edgartown demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Edgartown, Massachusetts Demographic Information

Edgartown has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for Edgartown demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Edgartown.

As a new Edgartown entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Edgartown 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 Franchise?

Examine a list of Edgartown businesses and you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. Would going with a franchise be a good idea for you?

Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Benefits of Owning A Franchise. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Representative franchise opportunities include Subway Franchises and Starbucks Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Moving Franchises.

Note on Edgartown Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Edgartown.

Is Buying an Existing Edgartown Business a Good Strategy?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Massachusetts. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Edgartown.

If you are going to be buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.

Choosing a Company Name

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.

On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Edgartown, it's very important that you make sure no other Massachusetts company is using the business name you want to use.

Company Formation in Edgartown, Massachusetts

It's essential that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. The principal 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 common way to legally create a business entity. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Massachusetts, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Massachusetts. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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 Dissolving a Corporation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Edgartown, Massachusetts, our information on Incorporating in Massachusetts may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Massachusetts.

The Role of the Business Plan

Creating a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Massachusetts.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Getting your Edgartown business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.

For Edgartown entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, we have assembled a List of Massachusetts Angel Investors and our List of Massachusetts Venture Capital Firms.

Getting the Word Out About Your New Venture

Whether your goal is to attract Edgartown customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a solid marketing plan.

We have some great resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Buying Radio Ads is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Bring in Revenues

Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Edgartown or are selling to customers throughout Massachusetts, 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.

Anticipating Prospect Responses is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Good entrepreneurs know that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

Given that you are starting a business in Edgartown, Massachusetts, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Massachusetts educational institutions. It's also wise to see if there are any Edgartown networking organizations.

Moving Forward

You have a dream -- starting a business in Edgartown. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Edgartown and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Edgartown 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 Edgartown, Massachusetts

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

• Resources for Edgartown, Massachusetts Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Edgartown 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.
• Edgartown, Massachusetts Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Edgartown, Massachusetts newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Edgartown area.