Start a Business in Hopkinton, Massachusetts

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

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Running your own business is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Hopkinton. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
• We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. We recommend that you read Free Business Ideas.

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 How to Start an Entertainers Business guide or our Starting a Horseshoers Business guide.

Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in Hopkinton. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Hopkinton. Only by spending some time analyzing Hopkinton demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Hopkinton, Massachusetts Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1496
5-9 Employees	348
10-19 Employees	270
20-49 Employees	186
50-99 Employees	78
100-249 Employees	24
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	6
1000+ Employees	0
All Hopkinton Businesses	2408

As a new Hopkinton entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hopkinton 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
Apprenticeship Training	1
Architectural Services	3
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	1
Beauty Salons	6
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	3
Book Publishers	1
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Car Washes	1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Caterers	1
Child Day Care Services	4
Collection Agencies	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	2
Computer Facilities Management Services	2
Computer Storage Device Manufacturing	1
Computer Systems Design Services	6
Computer Training	1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining	1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities	1
Convenience Stores	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	14
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1
Electrical Contractors	6
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Engineering Services	9
Environmental Consulting Services	2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services	1
Fine Arts Schools	2
Finish Carpentry Contractors	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Flooring Contractors	2
Florists	2
Food Service Contractors	3
Framing Contractors	1
Full-Service Restaurants	4
Furniture Stores	1
General Automotive Repair	3
General Freight Trucking, Local	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Grantmaking Foundations	1
Graphic Design Services	3
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers	1
Hardware Stores	1
Heating Oil Dealers	1
Home Health Care Services	2
Homes for the Elderly	1
Human Rights Organizations	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	5
Interior Design Services	2
Internet Service Providers	1
Investigation Services	1
Investment Advice	2
Janitorial Services	4
Land Subdivision	2
Landscape Architectural Services	3
Landscaping Services	12
Libraries and Archives	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	1
Limousine Service	1
Locksmiths	2
Logging	1
Machine Shops	1
Mail-Order Houses	1
Marketing Consulting Services	4
Masonry Contractors	1
Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing	1
Miscellaneous Intermediation	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
Motion Picture and Video Production	1
Nail Salons	1
New Housing Operative Builders	4
Office Administrative Services	3
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	5
Offices of Chiropractors	3
Offices of Dentists	5
Offices of Lawyers	5
Offices of Optometrists	2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	3
Parking Lots and Garages	1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Photography Studios, Portrait	1
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas	2
Real Estate Credit	1
Remediation Services	1
Residential Property Managers	2
Residential Remodelers	8
Roofing Contractors	1
Sales Financing	1
Savings Institutions	3
Sawmills	1
Securities Brokerage	1
Septic Tank and Related Services	1
Site Preparation Contractors	3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	4
Television Broadcasting	1
Temporary Help Services	1
Travel Agencies	1
Used Car Dealers	1
Used Merchandise Stores	2
Vending Machine Operators	1
Veterinary Services	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	7
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing	1

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.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Hopkinton, it's critical that you ensure that you will be the only Massachusetts company using the business name you have chosen.

Forming a Company in Hopkinton, Massachusetts

A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporation is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in Massachusetts, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Massachusetts. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as C Corp Versus S Corp. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, our information on Incorporating in Massachusetts may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Massachusetts.

Selling Tips

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Hopkinton business, you need to focus on sales.

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.

Closing Sales is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

What's Next?

As an entrepreneur in Hopkinton, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

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 Hopkinton and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Hopkinton, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Hopkinton, Massachusetts

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

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

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