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  Entrepreneurial Resources - Advice for Connecticut Entrepreneurs  
  Fairfield, Connecticut Resources for Entrepreneurs  
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Starting a Business in Fairfield, Connecticut

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

Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?

Most new ventures don't make it, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

  • Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Fairfield. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
  • Take a look at The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
  • Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

What Business to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse 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 starting a business in Fairfield has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Fairfield than others. Make sure you fully understand Fairfield demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Fairfield, Connecticut Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees 13140
5-9 Employees 3330
10-19 Employees 2565
20-49 Employees 1485
50-99 Employees 405
100-249 Employees 405
250-499 Employees 45
500-999 Employees 0
1000+ Employees 45
All Fairfield Businesses 21420

As a new Fairfield entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Fairfield 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
Architectural Services 3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores 1
Ball and Roller Bearing Manufacturing 1
Barber Shops 1
Beauty Salons 7
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores 7
Book Stores 1
Bowling Centers 1
Building Inspection Services 1
Charter Bus Industry 1
Child Day Care Services 3
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores 1
Civic and Social Organizations 1
Coffee and Tea Manufacturing 1
Commercial Photography 2
Computer and Software Stores 1
Computer Systems Design Services 2
Confectionery and Nut Stores 1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers 1
Custom Computer Programming Services 4
Dental Laboratories 1
Direct Mail Advertising 1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers 1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers 1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) 2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors 2
Electrical Contractors 5
Elementary and Secondary Schools 4
Emergency and Other Relief Services 1
Employment Placement Agencies 1
Engineering Services 1
Environmental Consulting Services 1
Facilities Support Services 1
Family Clothing Stores 2
Finish Carpentry Contractors 3
Fish and Seafood Markets 1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers 2
Floor Covering Stores 3
Florists 3
Food Service Contractors 1
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers 1
Framing Contractors 1
Freight Transportation Arrangement 2
Full-Service Restaurants 9
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services 2
Furniture Stores 1
General Automotive Repair 4
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores 1
Heating Oil Dealers 2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores 2
Home Health Care Services 1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages 11
Interior Design Services 2
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting 1
Investigation Services 4
Investment Advice 2
Janitorial Services 3
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing 1
Jewelry Stores 2
Land Subdivision 3
Landscape Architectural Services 1
Landscaping Services 15
Limited-Service Restaurants 5
Limousine Service 4
Mail-Order Houses 1
Marketing Consulting Services 4
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers 2
Nail Salons 2
New Car Dealers 4
Nonresidential Property Managers 3
Office Administrative Services 1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores 1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants 18
Offices of Chiropractors 3
Offices of Dentists 12
Offices of Lawyers 16
Offices of Optometrists 2
Offices of Other Holding Companies 2
Offices of Podiatrists 3
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers 4
Optical Goods Stores 3
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors 1
Payroll Services 1
Periodical Publishers 3
Political Organizations 1
Portfolio Management 3
Public Relations Agencies 1
Real Estate Credit 3
Residential Property Managers 2
Residential Remodelers 5
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair 1
Savings Institutions 5
Securities Brokerage 6
Shoe Stores 1
Site Preparation Contractors 1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars 6
Software Publishers 2
Solid Waste Collection 3
Sound Recording Studios 1
Sports and Recreation Instruction 3
Tax Preparation Services 1
Telecommunications Resellers 1
Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing 1
Temporary Help Services 2
Temporary Shelters 1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors 1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices 1
Travel Agencies 1
Used Car Dealers 1
Used Merchandise Stores 1
Veterinary Services 4
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers 4
Women's Clothing Stores 4

Have You Considered Franchising?

Visit the business district of Fairfield and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Evidently, there must be some significant advantages to purchasing a franchise.

Our advice is to investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising Mistakes. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

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

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

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Fairfield Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Connecticut. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Fairfield.

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

Picking 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.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

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 Fairfield, it's imperative that you check now that no other Connecticut company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Fairfield, Connecticut

It's very important 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 corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Connecticut, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Connecticut. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate in the state of your choosing. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles 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 Fairfield, Connecticut, our information on Incorporating in Connecticut may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Connecticut.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Having a business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, 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 makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Presentations. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Connecticut.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your Fairfield business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Take advantage of our many articles on securing funding, such as How Equity Dilution Works.

For Fairfield entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, you'll want to take a look at our List of Connecticut Angel Investors and our List of Connecticut Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

To grow your Fairfield business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Marketing Research discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Sell

Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Fairfield business to do well.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Closing Sales Techniques is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

Good entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Connecticut universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Fairfield entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Moving Forward

Most new Fairfield businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

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

We are here to help Fairfield businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Fairfield, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Fairfield, Connecticut

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

More Startup Articles for Connecticut Cities
Starting a Business in East Hartford
Starting a Business in Georgetown

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Connecticut
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Starting a Business - Business Ideas - Naming and Branding - City Guides

Buying a Business - Writing a Business Plan - Raising Money - Incorporate

Small Business Marketing - Customer Service Tips - Entrepreneurial Selling

Startup Leadership - Strategy - Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurs

Articles on Exporting - Human Resources for Entrepreneurs - Workers Comp

Legal Information for Entrepreneurs - Sarbanes-Oxley - Accounting - SBDC

Business Credit Cards - Nonprofit Entrepreneurs - Mission Statements

Tax Tips and Resources for Entrepreneurs - Operating Your Startup Business

Real Estate Decisions for Entrepreneurs - Franchising - Selling a Business

Starting a Home Business - Small Business Technology - Business Travel

Business Finance - Advice for Retailers - Entrepreneurship for Scientists

Administrative Professionals / Office Managers - Family Business Advice

Good Businesses to Start - Start an Energy Business - Start a Hedge Fund

Payroll Service Information - Productivity Tips - Bad Economy Advice

Small Business Websites - Search Engine Optimization - Online Reputation

Search Engine Marketing - Social Marketing Optimization - Business Forms

Business in the Jungle - Business in Fiction - Negotiating - Radio Ad Costs

Newspaper Advertising Rates - City-Specific Resources for Entrepreneurs

Small Business Insurance - Global Entrepreneurship - China & Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur Features - Acquisition Speculation - Business Book Reviews

Small Business Loans - Studying Entrepreneurship - Social Entrepreneurship

Veteran Entrepreneurs - Useful Web Sites for Entrepreneurs - Dell Deals

Entrepreneurial Resources by State - Resources for Young Entrepreneurs

African American Entrepreneurs - Resources for Hispanic Entrepreneurs

Resources for Asian Entrepreneurs - Resources for Women Entrepreneurs

Resources for Gay Entrepreneurs - Businesses for Sale - Office Supplies

Economics - Lists of Small Business Incubators - Lists of Angel Investors

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms - Franchise Opportunities

Recommended Products and Services for Entrepreneurs - Contributors

Get FREE Price Quotes from Multiple Vendors - Business Glossary