Contemplating starting a business in Falmouth, Massachusetts? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Falmouth.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Before you get too far along in the process, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Before you move forward with starting a business, be sure to do these three things:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Falmouth. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful 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. 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.
What Business to Start
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. 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 How to Start a Real Estate Foreclosure Assistance & Services Business guide or our Starting a Tree & Stump Removal Services Business guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Falmouth. Some businesses will do better in Falmouth than others. Make sure you fully understand Falmouth demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Falmouth, Massachusetts 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.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
2658 |
| 5-9 Employees |
1053 |
| 10-19 Employees |
693 |
| 20-49 Employees |
423 |
| 50-99 Employees |
126 |
| 100-249 Employees |
63 |
| 250-499 Employees |
0 |
| 500-999 Employees |
9 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Falmouth Businesses |
5025 |
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.
| Business Type |
# of
Businesses |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
3 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
|
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
3 |
| Barber Shops |
2 |
| Beauty Salons |
9 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
2 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
6 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
2 |
|
Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
2 |
| Car Washes |
2 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
2 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
1 |
|
Civic and Social Organizations |
5 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
2 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Community Food Services |
2 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Computer Training |
1 |
|
Consumer Lending |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
4 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
3 |
| Deep Sea Freight Transportation |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
1 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
5 |
|
Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
2 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
2 |
| Engineering Services |
5 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
3 |
| Family Planning Centers |
2 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
|
Finish Carpentry Contractors |
3 |
| Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
5 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
1 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
30 |
|
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
1 |
| General Automotive Repair |
2 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
7 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
|
Graphic Design Services |
2 |
| Greeting Card Publishers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
2 |
| Historical Sites |
3 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
2 |
|
Hunting and Trapping |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Inland Water Passenger Transportation |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
11 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
2 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
|
Junior Colleges |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
3 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
10 |
| Libraries and Archives |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
12 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
|
Marinas |
3 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
2 |
| New Car Dealers |
3 |
|
Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
3 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
3 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
3 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
4 |
| Offices of Dentists |
15 |
|
Offices of Lawyers |
23 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
4 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
2 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
1 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
2 |
|
Payroll Services |
2 |
| Periodical Publishers |
2 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
3 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
2 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
3 |
|
Residential Remodelers |
1 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
5 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
4 |
| Shoe Stores |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
2 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
8 |
|
Sporting Goods Stores |
4 |
| Telemarketing Bureaus |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
1 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
3 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
|
Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
3 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
7 |
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, 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.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Expert Advice on Business Plans. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Massachusetts.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Raising money to fund your new Falmouth business is not an easy task. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as How Equity Dilution Works.
For Falmouth entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, we have assembled a List of Massachusetts Angel Investors and our List of Massachusetts Venture Capital Firms.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
The best entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Falmouth, Massachusetts, you should check out some of the many programs available at nearby Massachusetts universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking organizations for Falmouth entrepreneurs.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Falmouth. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Falmouth businesses to be successful. 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, Massachusetts
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Falmouth.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Massachusetts
Starting a Business in Fall River
Starting a Business in Feeding Hills
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