Starting a Business in Friday Harbor, Washington

Are you starting a business in Friday Harbor, Washington? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Friday Harbor.

Do You Have What It Takes?

Most startup ventures don't make it, in part because the founder did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

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

Speak with other entrepreneurs in Friday Harbor. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. 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 Type of Business Should You Start?

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Evaluating Your Idea.

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 Starting an Air Duct Cleaning Business guide or our Starting a Brazing Alloys & Fluxes Business guide.

Don't forget that you are opening your new business in Friday Harbor. Some businesses will do better in Friday Harbor than others. Don't forget to review Friday Harbor demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Friday Harbor, Washington Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1109
5-9 Employees	249
10-19 Employees	120
20-49 Employees	30
50-99 Employees	15
100-249 Employees	0
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Friday Harbor Businesses	1523

As a new Friday Harbor entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Friday Harbor 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
Architectural Services	3
Art Dealers	5
Beauty Salons	1
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	6
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	1
Boat Building	1
Boat Dealers	4
Book Stores	2
Bowling Centers	1
Business Associations	1
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Canvas and Related Product Mills	1
Caterers	1
Child Day Care Services	3
Civic and Social Organizations	1
Coffee and Tea Manufacturing	1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	2
Computer Facilities Management Services	1
Computer Systems Design Services	3
Convention and Visitors Bureaus	1
Couriers	2
Custom Computer Programming Services	4
Direct Title Insurance Carriers	1
Document Preparation Services	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	1
Educational Support Services	1
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	9
Elementary and Secondary Schools	3
Employment Placement Agencies	1
Engineering Services	7
Environmental Consulting Services	3
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	1
Family Clothing Stores	4
Family Planning Centers	1
Finfish Fishing	3
Finish Carpentry Contractors	2
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers	2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Flight Training	1
Flooring Contractors	1
Framing Contractors	3
Full-Service Restaurants	22
General Automotive Repair	4
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	6
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	2
Graphic Design Services	4
Hardware Stores	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	3
Home Centers	1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers	1
Homes for the Elderly	2
Ice Manufacturing	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	5
Internet Service Providers	2
Investment Advice	1
Janitorial Services	1
Land Subdivision	2
Landscape Architectural Services	1
Landscaping Services	10
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	8
Marinas	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Masonry Contractors	4
Miscellaneous Intermediation	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
Motion Picture and Video Production	1
Museums	2
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Administrative Services	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	4
Offices of Chiropractors	3
Offices of Dentists	4
Offices of Lawyers	8
Offices of Optometrists	1
One-Hour Photofinishing	1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	5
Parking Lots and Garages	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	3
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Portfolio Management	1
Public Relations Agencies	1
Quick Printing	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	1
Real Estate Credit	1
Recreational Goods Rental	1
Remediation Services	1
Residential Property Managers	1
Residential Remodelers	10
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair	1
Roofing Contractors	2
Seafood Canning	1
Securities Brokerage	2
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Shellfish Fishing	4
Ship Building and Repairing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	9
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	5
Software Publishers	1
Specialty Canning	1
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Telephone Answering Services	1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters	1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors	3
Tour Operators	2
Travel Agencies	2
Used Car Dealers	1
Used Merchandise Stores	4
Veterinary Services	3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems	1
Women's Clothing Stores	2
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing	2

What About Buying an Existing Friday Harbor Business?

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

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Promoting Your New Company

To rise above the crowd in Friday Harbor and build your business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Direct Mail Costs 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.

Selling Tips

Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Friday Harbor 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.

Cold Call Selling offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Now It's Up To You

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

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

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

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

Resources for Friday Harbor, Washington Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Friday Harbor entrepreneurs.
Washington Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Washington.
Washington Small Business Development Center - Washington Small Business Development Centers promote economic vitality by providing advice, training and research to Washington entrepreneurs and existing Washington businesses.
Friday Harbor, Washington Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Friday Harbor, Washington newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Friday Harbor area.

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