Thinking about starting a business in Holyoke, Massachusetts? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Holyoke.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneurial life is hard work, much harder than working as an employee. Are you positive 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.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Holyoke. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- 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. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Choosing the Right Company to 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 Good Business Ideas.
To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Stocks & Bonds Business guide or our Opening a Water Supply Engineers Business guide.
Remember that your new startup will be located in Holyoke. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Holyoke. Don't forget to review Holyoke demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Holyoke, Massachusetts Demographic Information
Holyoke has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Holyoke demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Holyoke.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
2484 |
| 5-9 Employees |
1324 |
| 10-19 Employees |
966 |
| 20-49 Employees |
792 |
| 50-99 Employees |
318 |
| 100-249 Employees |
174 |
| 250-499 Employees |
36 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
6 |
| All Holyoke Businesses |
6100 |
As a new Holyoke entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Holyoke 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 |
| Adhesive Manufacturing |
1 |
| Advertising Agencies |
1 |
| Air and Gas Compressor Manufacturing |
1 |
| Amusement Arcades |
2 |
| Apprenticeship Training |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
1 |
|
Armored Car Services |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automobile Driving Schools |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
5 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
11 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
|
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
14 |
| Blind and Shade Manufacturing |
1 |
| Book Stores |
3 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Broadwoven Fabric Mills |
1 |
| Business Associations |
2 |
| Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Car Washes |
3 |
|
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Caterers |
3 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
2 |
| Child Day Care Services |
7 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
4 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
9 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
5 |
|
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
2 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
8 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
3 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
3 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
3 |
| Computer Training |
1 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
4 |
|
Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
9 |
| Credit Unions |
2 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying |
1 |
| Direct Life Insurance Carriers |
2 |
| Direct Mail Advertising |
1 |
| Discount Department Stores |
2 |
|
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
16 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
1 |
| Educational Support Services |
3 |
| Electrical Contractors |
6 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
12 |
| Employment Placement Agencies |
2 |
| Engineering Services |
1 |
|
Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
3 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
13 |
| Family Planning Centers |
2 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
5 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Florists |
2 |
|
Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
3 |
| Food Service Contractors |
4 |
| Footwear and Leather Goods Repair |
1 |
| Footwear Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
3 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
26 |
|
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
7 |
| Furniture Stores |
4 |
| General Automotive Repair |
8 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
2 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
6 |
|
Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
2 |
| Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
4 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
|
Home Health Care Services |
6 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
3 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
2 |
| Human Rights Organizations |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
15 |
| Investigation Services |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
|
Janitorial Services |
4 |
| Jewelry Stores |
15 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
10 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
27 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
2 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
|
Machine Shops |
8 |
| Manifold Business Forms Printing |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
4 |
| Mattress Manufacturing |
1 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
5 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
2 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
|
Museums |
2 |
| Nail Salons |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
2 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
3 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
8 |
| Office Administrative Services |
2 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
4 |
|
Offices of Chiropractors |
6 |
| Offices of Dentists |
10 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
19 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
2 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
3 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
7 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
2 |
| Packaging and Labeling Services |
2 |
|
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
2 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
4 |
| Paper (except Newsprint) Mills |
1 |
| Paper Industry Machinery Manufacturing |
2 |
| Paperboard Mills |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
3 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
|
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
7 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
5 |
| Plastics Bottle Manufacturing |
1 |
| Plate Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Prepress Services |
1 |
| Professional Organizations |
1 |
|
Recreational Goods Rental |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
4 |
| Residential Remodelers |
5 |
| Retail Bakeries |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
2 |
| Sales Financing |
1 |
| Sanitary Paper Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
8 |
|
School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
18 |
| Siding Contractors |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
2 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
4 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
7 |
|
Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
7 |
| Temporary Help Services |
2 |
| Temporary Shelters |
2 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Tobacco Stores |
1 |
|
Tradebinding and Related Work |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Used Car Dealers |
6 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
2 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
2 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
3 |
|
Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
8 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
22 |
Naming the Business
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.
Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Holyoke, it's critical that you ensure that your company name has not already been claimed by another Massachusetts business.
The Art of Selling
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Holyoke business, you need to focus on sales.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Compensating Sales People offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities
The best business owners recognize that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Holyoke, 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 groups or organizations in which Holyoke entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
What's Next?
As an entrepreneur in Holyoke, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Holyoke businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Holyoke 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 Holyoke, Massachusetts
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Holyoke.
- Resources for Holyoke, Massachusetts Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Holyoke entrepreneurs.
- Massachusetts Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Massachusetts.
- Massachusetts Small Business Development Center - The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network provides one-to-one free comprehensive and confidential services focusing on, business growth and strategies, financing and loan assistance as well as strategic, marketing and operational analysis.
- Holyoke, Massachusetts Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Holyoke, Massachusetts newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Holyoke area.
- Holyoke, Massachusetts Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Holyoke, Massachusetts area radio stations.
- Holyoke, Massachusetts Payroll Services - This list includes Holyoke, Massachusetts payroll services, national payroll services for Holyoke, and helpful information on choosing a Holyoke payroll service.
- Holyoke, Massachusetts Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Holyoke, Massachusetts, such as business brokers in Holyoke and other helpful information on how to buy a Holyoke business.
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