Open a Business in Gorham, Maine

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

Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?

Most new businesses don't make it, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Gorham. 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 Type of Business Should You Start?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 Opening a China, Crystal, & Glassware Repair Business guide or our How to Start a Textiles Trimmings & Accessories Retail Business guide.

Remember that your new business will be in Gorham. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Gorham. Don't forget to review Gorham demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Gorham, Maine Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	3048
5-9 Employees	744
10-19 Employees	476
20-49 Employees	336
50-99 Employees	72
100-249 Employees	72
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Gorham Businesses	4748

As a new Gorham entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Gorham 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	1
Architectural Services	1
Baked Goods Stores	1
Beauty Salons	1
Bowling Centers	1
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Child Day Care Services	9
Clothing Accessories Stores	1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	2
Collection Agencies	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	1
Computer Systems Design Services	3
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining	1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities	1
Convenience Stores	4
Credit Unions	2
Custom Computer Programming Services	1
Dental Laboratories	1
Direct Mail Advertising	1
Drafting Services	1
Electrical Contractors	7
Employment Placement Agencies	1
Engineering Services	8
Environmental Consulting Services	3
Fine Arts Schools	1
Finish Carpentry Contractors	3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Floor Covering Stores	1
Flooring Contractors	2
Florists	2
Food Service Contractors	2
Framing Contractors	1
Freight Transportation Arrangement	1
Full-Service Restaurants	2
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers	1
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	3
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing	1
Hardware Stores	1
Heating Oil Dealers	3
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers	1
Homes for the Elderly	1
Industrial Launderers	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	4
Interior Design Services	1
Investment Advice	1
Janitorial Services	10
Landscaping Services	8
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Libraries and Archives	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	7
Logging	1
Machine Shops	5
Marketing Consulting Services	2
Masonry Contractors	1
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
Musical Instrument Manufacturing	1
New Housing Operative Builders	2
Nitrogenous Fertilizer Manufacturing	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	5
Offices of Lawyers	5
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Other Holding Companies	1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Photography Studios, Portrait	1
Plate Work Manufacturing	1
Remediation Services	1
Residential Property Managers	1
Residential Remodelers	8
Retail Bakeries	1
Roofing Contractors	1
Savings Institutions	3
Sawmills	1
Securities Brokerage	1
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Shoe Stores	1
Site Preparation Contractors	4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	5
Solid Waste Collection	1
Sporting Goods Stores	2
Tax Preparation Services	1
Tire Dealers	1
Tire Manufacturing (except Retreading)	1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices	1
Used Car Dealers	5
Used Household and Office Goods Moving	1
Used Merchandise Stores	1
Veterinary Services	2
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	4

Is Franchising a Better Option?

Examine a list of Gorham businesses and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Costs of Franchise Ownership. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

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

Sample franchise opportunities include White Castle International Company and Kilwin's Mackinac Fudge. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Apparel Franchises and Interior Environment Franchises.

Note on Gorham Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Gorham, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Naming the Company

A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.

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.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Gorham, it's imperative that you check now that no other Maine company is using the business name you want to use.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

The best business owners recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

Given that you are starting a business in Gorham, Maine, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Maine educational institutions. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking organizations for Gorham entrepreneurs.

Now It's Up To You

Most new Gorham 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 Gorham and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Gorham 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 Gorham, Maine

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

• Resources for Gorham, Maine Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Gorham 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.
• Gorham, Maine Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Gorham, Maine newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Gorham area.

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