Maine Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Falmouth, Maine
Contemplating starting a business in Falmouth, Maine? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Falmouth.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Most new businesses do not succeed, in part because the founder did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Falmouth. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Falmouth, Maine Demographic Information
Falmouth has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Falmouth demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Falmouth.
Businesses
As a new Falmouth entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Falmouth 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.
Businesses
Should You Franchise?
As you drive around Falmouth, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?
We highly recommend you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising My Business. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Sample franchise opportunities include Subway Franchises and Starbucks Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Moving Franchises.
Note on Falmouth Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Falmouth.
Forming a Company in Falmouth, Maine
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
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 Maine, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Maine. In fact, you are allowed to 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 Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Falmouth, Maine, our web page covering Incorporating in Maine may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Maine.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Raising money to fund your new Falmouth business is a difficult chore. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.
Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Getting a Small Business Loan.
For Falmouth entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Maine Angel Investors and our List of Maine Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Venture
To grow your Falmouth business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
We have some useful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Search Engine Promotion discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Next Steps
Most new Falmouth businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
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 Falmouth and elsewhere to achieve real success. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Falmouth, Maine
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Falmouth.
- Resources for Falmouth, Maine Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Falmouth entrepreneurs.
- Maine Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Maine.
- Maine Small Business Development Center - Maine Small Business Development Centers and its technology-focused group, the Maine Small Business & Technology Development Centers, provide comprehensive business management assistance, training, resource and information services to Maine's entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Maine
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Starting a Business in Farmingdale
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