Thinking about starting a business in Great Falls, Montana? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Great Falls.
An entrepreneurial life is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Good Business Ideas.
Always keep in mind that starting a business in Great Falls has some implications. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Great Falls. Make sure you fully understand Great Falls demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Great Falls has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Great Falls demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Great Falls.
As a new Great Falls entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Great Falls 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 |
6 |
| Ambulance Services |
2 |
| Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering |
6 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
7 |
| Armored Car Services |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
5 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
2 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
3 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
21 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
2 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
4 |
| Barber Shops |
3 |
| Beauty Salons |
15 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
2 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
3 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
5 |
| Blood and Organ Banks |
1 |
| Boat Building |
1 |
| Boat Dealers |
2 |
| Book Stores |
6 |
| Bowling Centers |
4 |
| Building Inspection Services |
3 |
| Business Associations |
7 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
2 |
| Canvas and Related Product Mills |
1 |
| Car Washes |
10 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
7 |
| Casino Hotels |
1 |
| Casinos (except Casino Hotels) |
5 |
| Caterers |
3 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
2 |
| Charter Bus Industry |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
5 |
| Child Day Care Services |
38 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
14 |
| Claims Adjusting |
3 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Collection Agencies |
6 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
4 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Commodity Contracts Dealing |
2 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
5 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
6 |
| Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing |
1 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
2 |
| Consumer Lending |
8 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
2 |
| Convenience Stores |
1 |
| Cosmetology and Barber Schools |
4 |
| Couriers |
6 |
| Court Reporting and Stenotype Services |
1 |
| Credit Bureaus |
2 |
| Credit Unions |
9 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
8 |
| Dental Laboratories |
5 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
1 |
| Diet and Weight Reducing Centers |
2 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
2 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
3 |
| Directory and Mailing List Publishers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
3 |
| Document Preparation Services |
3 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
49 |
| Dry Pasta Manufacturing |
1 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
9 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
4 |
| Electrical Contractors |
15 |
| Electronic Shopping |
2 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
2 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
2 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
2 |
| Engineering Services |
12 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing |
1 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
3 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
8 |
| Family Planning Centers |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
7 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
3 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
7 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
7 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
8 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
5 |
| Flour Milling |
2 |
| Fluid Milk Manufacturing |
1 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
4 |
| Food Service Contractors |
3 |
| Formal Wear and Costume Rental |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
5 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
66 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
4 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
13 |
| General Automotive Repair |
24 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
9 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
5 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
15 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
3 |
| Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
4 |
| Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal |
1 |
| Historical Sites |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
9 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
9 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
4 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
14 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
4 |
| Hydroelectric Power Generation |
1 |
| Ice Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
66 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| International Trade Financing |
1 |
| Internet Publishing and Broadcasting |
1 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investigation Services |
2 |
| Investment Advice |
11 |
| Janitorial Services |
17 |
| Jewelry Stores |
13 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
24 |
| Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing |
2 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
2 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
73 |
| Linen Supply |
1 |
| Livestock Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
2 |
| Locksmiths |
2 |
| Machine Shops |
2 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
3 |
| Masonry Contractors |
8 |
| Meat Processed from Carcasses |
1 |
| Media Representatives |
2 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
1 |
| Mobile Food Services |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
2 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
5 |
| Museums |
3 |
| Musical Groups and Artists |
2 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Natural Gas Distribution |
2 |
| New Car Dealers |
10 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
6 |
| News Dealers and Newsstands |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
5 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
3 |
| Office Administrative Services |
3 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
4 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
7 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
23 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
10 |
| Offices of Dentists |
40 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
59 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
7 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
7 |
| One-Hour Photofinishing |
1 |
| Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
5 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
3 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
15 |
| Parking Lots and Garages |
1 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
4 |
| Periodical Publishers |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
3 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
4 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
2 |
| Petroleum Refineries |
2 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
8 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
3 |
| Political Organizations |
1 |
| Portfolio Management |
8 |
| Private Mail Centers |
3 |
| Professional Organizations |
3 |
| Quick Printing |
2 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing |
2 |
| Real Estate Credit |
7 |
| Recreational Vehicle Dealers |
2 |
| Reinsurance Carriers |
2 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
5 |
| Residential Remodelers |
19 |
| Retail Bakeries |
3 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
2 |
| Roofing Contractors |
5 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
| Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation |
4 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Secondary Market Financing |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
17 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
2 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
3 |
| Ship Building and Repairing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
12 |
| Siding Contractors |
4 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
3 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
7 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
17 |
| Soft Drink Manufacturing |
1 |
| Software Publishers |
1 |
| Special Needs Transportation |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
8 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
7 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
| Telemarketing Bureaus |
2 |
| Telephone Answering Services |
1 |
| Television Broadcasting |
4 |
| Temporary Help Services |
4 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Testing Laboratories |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
2 |
| Tire Dealers |
10 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Tobacco Stores |
3 |
| Translation and Interpretation Services |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
3 |
| Truck Trailer Manufacturing |
1 |
| Truss Manufacturing |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
13 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
10 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
6 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
12 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
4 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
9 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters |
2 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
3 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
4 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
2 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
5 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
6 |
Visit the business district of Great Falls and you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. Is there a franchise opportunity out there that makes sense for you?
Most business experts recommend that you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchise Law. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
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.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Great Falls, it's critical that you ensure that no other Montana company is using the business name you want to use.
Whether your goal is to attract Great Falls customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
As an entrepreneur in Great Falls, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Great Falls and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Great Falls, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Great Falls.
