Thinking about starting a business in Huntington, Massachusetts? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Huntington.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Before quitting your day job, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
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 Huntington. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. 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 Business to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, 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 Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Huntington. If Huntington already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Make sure you fully understand Huntington demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Huntington, Massachusetts Demographic Information
Huntington has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Huntington demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Huntington.
| Business Size | # of Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
496 |
| 5-9 Employees |
168 |
| 10-19 Employees |
48 |
| 20-49 Employees |
72 |
| 50-99 Employees |
0 |
| 100-249 Employees |
0 |
| 250-499 Employees |
0 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Huntington Businesses |
784 |
As a new Huntington entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Huntington 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 |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
1 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
1 |
| Logging |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
2 |
| Savings Institutions |
1 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
2 |
Have You Considered Franchising?
As you drive around Huntington, you'll conclude that many business owners have opted to buy a franchise, rather than starting a business on their own. Would going with a franchise be a good idea for you?
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to look into purchasing a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising My Business. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Subway Franchises and Starbucks Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Moving Franchises.
Note on Huntington Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Huntington.
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Huntington Business?
We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Massachusetts. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Huntington.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Buying a Business.
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.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Huntington, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another Massachusetts business.
Forming a Company in Huntington, Massachusetts
It's essential that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
When forming a company, you will decide among many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating 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, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Massachusetts. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
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 Dissolving a Corporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Huntington, Massachusetts, our web page covering Incorporating in Massachusetts may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Massachusetts.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Expert Advice on Business Plans. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Massachusetts.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Raising money to fund your new Huntington business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising money, such as Angel Investors.
For Huntington entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Massachusetts Angel Investors and our List of Massachusetts Venture Capital Firms.
Promoting Your New Company
Whether your goal is to attract Huntington customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your business achieving its goals.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Responsible Marketing is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
The Art of Selling
Being able to sell is essential to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Huntington or are selling to customers throughout Massachusetts, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Compensating Sales People 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.
Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge
Good entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Huntington, Massachusetts, you should get information on some of the many programs available at nearby Massachusetts universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any Huntington networking organizations.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Huntington. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Huntington and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Huntington, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Huntington, Massachusetts
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Huntington.
More Business Startup Guides for Massachusetts
Starting a Business in Hull
Starting a Business in Hyannis
Browse All
Business Startup Guides for Massachusetts
Starting a Business
Guides for Other States