Thinking about starting a business in Fair Lawn, New Jersey? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Fair Lawn.
Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?
Before quitting your day job, 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.
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Fair Lawn. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- Peruse Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.
Fair Lawn, New Jersey Demographic Information
Fair Lawn has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Fair Lawn demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Fair Lawn.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
2353 |
| 5-9 Employees |
483 |
| 10-19 Employees |
267 |
| 20-49 Employees |
213 |
| 50-99 Employees |
90 |
| 100-249 Employees |
45 |
| 250-499 Employees |
9 |
| 500-999 Employees |
6 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Fair Lawn Businesses |
3466 |
As a new Fair Lawn entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Fair Lawn 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 |
4 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
2 |
| Architectural Services |
6 |
| Art Dealers |
2 |
| Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing |
1 |
| Automobile Driving Schools |
1 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
2 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
16 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
5 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills |
2 |
| Building Inspection Services |
1 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Car Washes |
2 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
2 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
2 |
| Child Day Care Services |
12 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
2 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
2 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Commercial Bakeries |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Computer Facilities Management Services |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
32 |
| Consumer Lending |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
5 |
| Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing |
2 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Court Reporting and Stenotype Services |
1 |
| Curtain and Drapery Mills |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
42 |
| Dental Laboratories |
2 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
2 |
| Directory and Mailing List Publishers |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
3 |
| Dry Pasta Manufacturing |
1 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
1 |
| Educational Support Services |
3 |
| Electrical Contractors |
17 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
2 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
10 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
5 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
2 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
2 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
7 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
6 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
1 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
5 |
| Food Service Contractors |
5 |
| Formal Wear and Costume Rental |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
18 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
2 |
| General Automotive Repair |
10 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
6 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
4 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
2 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
1 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
3 |
| Graphic Design Services |
5 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
2 |
| Institutional Furniture Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
21 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
4 |
| Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Jewelry Stores |
4 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
21 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
34 |
| Limousine Service |
9 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
1 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
2 |
| Manifold Business Forms Printing |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
5 |
| Masonry Contractors |
1 |
| Media Buying Agencies |
1 |
| Media Representatives |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
2 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Musical Groups and Artists |
1 |
| Nail Salons |
6 |
| New Car Dealers |
2 |
| News Dealers and Newsstands |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
2 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
4 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
29 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
9 |
| Offices of Dentists |
34 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
26 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
6 |
| Offices of Other Holding Companies |
1 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
6 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
2 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
2 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
2 |
| Outerwear Knitting Mills |
1 |
| Paint and Coating Manufacturing |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
3 |
| Parking Lots and Garages |
1 |
| Payroll Services |
3 |
| Periodical Publishers |
4 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
7 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
3 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Professional Employer Organizations |
2 |
| Professional Organizations |
3 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
4 |
| Residential Property Managers |
3 |
| Residential Remodelers |
13 |
| Retail Bakeries |
2 |
| Roofing Contractors |
5 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
8 |
| Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
4 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Siding Contractors |
2 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
3 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
6 |
| Software Publishers |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
3 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
4 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
| Telecommunications Resellers |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
3 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Toilet Preparation Manufacturing |
1 |
| Translation and Interpretation Services |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
5 |
| Used Car Dealers |
1 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
5 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
4 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
3 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Web Search Portals |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
7 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
5 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
1 |
Naming the Business
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.
Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Fair Lawn, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another New Jersey business.
Forming a Company in Fair Lawn, New Jersey
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as 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 New Jersey, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in New Jersey. 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 Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, our web page covering Incorporating in New Jersey may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in New Jersey.
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Mistakes. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in New Jersey.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
Good entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby New Jersey universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any Fair Lawn networking organizations.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Fair Lawn. 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.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Fair Lawn and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Fair Lawn 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 Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Fair Lawn.
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