Thinking about starting a business in Hingham, Massachusetts? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Hingham.
What Business to Start
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading How to Evaluate a Business 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 Opening a Bronze Art Business guide or our Opening a Placement & Scholarship Bureaus Business guide.
Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in Hingham. Some businesses will do better in Hingham than others. A critical consideration is whether Hingham demographics mesh well with your startup concept.
Hingham, Massachusetts Demographic Information
Hingham has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Hingham demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Hingham.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
2576 |
| 5-9 Employees |
972 |
| 10-19 Employees |
618 |
| 20-49 Employees |
444 |
| 50-99 Employees |
222 |
| 100-249 Employees |
66 |
| 250-499 Employees |
12 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
6 |
| All Hingham Businesses |
4916 |
As a new Hingham entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hingham 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 |
10 |
| Art Dealers |
2 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
9 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
4 |
| Boat Dealers |
4 |
| Book Publishers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Building Inspection Services |
1 |
| Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores |
2 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
7 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
4 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
7 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
2 |
| Consumer Lending |
1 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
8 |
| Convention and Trade Show Organizers |
1 |
| Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing |
1 |
| Credit Card Issuing |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
3 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
1 |
| Diet and Weight Reducing Centers |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Direct Mail Advertising |
2 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
1 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
1 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
11 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
4 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
9 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
7 |
| Family Planning Centers |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
3 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
7 |
| Fish and Seafood Markets |
1 |
| Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
6 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
2 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
2 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
16 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
1 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
2 |
| General Automotive Repair |
1 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
2 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
5 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
3 |
| Graphic Design Services |
2 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers |
3 |
| Home Health Care Services |
1 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
2 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Industrial Gas Manufacturing |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
21 |
| Interior Design Services |
4 |
| Investigation Services |
2 |
| Investment Advice |
10 |
| Janitorial Services |
5 |
| Jewelry Stores |
4 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
4 |
| Language Schools |
1 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
2 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
11 |
| Limousine Service |
2 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
3 |
| Marinas |
2 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
7 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Miscellaneous Intermediation |
2 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
4 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Nail Salons |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
3 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
2 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
16 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
3 |
| Offices of Dentists |
17 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
28 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
1 |
| Offices of Other Holding Companies |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
5 |
| Parking Lots and Garages |
2 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
4 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Political Organizations |
1 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Power-Driven Handtool Manufacturing |
1 |
| Professional Organizations |
1 |
| Public Relations Agencies |
1 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
5 |
| Residential Property Managers |
2 |
| Residential Remodelers |
8 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
5 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Securities Brokerage |
2 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
1 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
4 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
6 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
7 |
| Software Publishers |
1 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Special Needs Transportation |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
4 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
4 |
| Tire Dealers |
1 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
1 |
| Tradebinding and Related Work |
3 |
| Travel Agencies |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
3 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
2 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
16 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
3 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
15 |
| Wood Preservation |
1 |
The Role of the Business Plan
Creating a business plan is critical to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Massachusetts.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Getting your Hingham business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Line of Credit.
For Hingham entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Massachusetts Angel Investors and our List of Massachusetts Venture Capital Firms.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Company
To grow your Hingham business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your business achieving its goals.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Marketing Basics is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
Successful entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.
With your business being located in Hingham, Massachusetts, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Massachusetts universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Hingham entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Hingham. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Hingham and throughout the United States . 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 Hingham, Massachusetts
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Hingham.
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