Thinking about starting a business in Livingston, Montana? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Livingston.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
An entrepreneurial life is demanding, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure you want to start a business?
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 Livingston. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Livingston, Montana Demographic Information
Livingston has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Livingston demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Livingston.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
12419 |
| 5-9 Employees |
3465 |
| 10-19 Employees |
1914 |
| 20-49 Employees |
990 |
| 50-99 Employees |
165 |
| 100-249 Employees |
99 |
| 250-499 Employees |
0 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Livingston Businesses |
19052 |
As a new Livingston entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Livingston 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 |
|
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
4 |
| Art Dealers |
8 |
| Automotive Exhaust System Repair |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
3 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
3 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
5 |
|
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
2 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Boat Building |
1 |
| Book Publishers |
2 |
| Book Stores |
2 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
|
Canvas and Related Product Mills |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
3 |
| Casinos (except Casino Hotels) |
2 |
| Caterers |
3 |
| Child and Youth Services |
2 |
| Child Day Care Services |
4 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
3 |
|
Clothing Accessories Stores |
2 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
2 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
1 |
| Community Food Services |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
2 |
| Construction Sand and Gravel Mining |
2 |
| Consumer Lending |
1 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
|
Copper Foundries (except Die-Casting) |
1 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
3 |
| Dental Laboratories |
2 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
1 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
13 |
|
Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
2 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
3 |
| Electrical Contractors |
10 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
2 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
1 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
3 |
|
Finish Carpentry Contractors |
4 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
2 |
| Flooring Contractors |
3 |
| Florists |
3 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
2 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
3 |
|
Full-Service Restaurants |
16 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
1 |
| General Automotive Repair |
9 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
3 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
2 |
|
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
2 |
|
Hunting and Trapping |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
2 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
8 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
3 |
| Iron Ore Mining |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
4 |
|
Jewelry Stores |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
4 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
2 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
13 |
| Livestock Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Logging |
3 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
3 |
|
Masonry Contractors |
3 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Medical Laboratories |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
2 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
2 |
| Museums |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
4 |
|
New Housing Operative Builders |
2 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
2 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Offices of Bank Holding Companies |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
6 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
4 |
|
Offices of Dentists |
4 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
11 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
1 |
| Periodical Publishers |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
2 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
5 |
| Private Mail Centers |
1 |
|
Radio Stations |
1 |
| Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
4 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
1 |
| Sawmills |
3 |
| Securities Brokerage |
3 |
|
Septic Tank and Related Services |
1 |
| Sign Manufacturing |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
8 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
4 |
| Software Publishers |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
|
Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Title Abstract and Settlement Offices |
2 |
| Tour Operators |
2 |
| Travel Agencies |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
4 |
|
Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Watch, Clock, and Part Manufacturing |
2 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
2 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
3 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
3 |
Is Franchising a Better Option?
As you drive around Livingston, you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. But is franchising the right option for you?
Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising My Business. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Off the Grill Franchising and Professional Carpet Systems. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Franchises that Serve Liquor and Hair Styling Franchises.
Note on Livingston Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Livingston.
Naming the Business
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 should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Livingston, it's critical that you ensure that no other Montana company is using the business name you want to use.
Startup Financing Basics
Getting your Livingston business the capital it needs to succeed is a difficult chore. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Choosing VC Firms.
For Livingston entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Montana Angel Investors and our List of Montana Venture Capital Firms.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Company
To grow your Livingston business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Advertising Campaigns is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities
Good business owners recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.
With your business being located in Livingston, Montana, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Montana universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Livingston networking organizations.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in Livingston, 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.
We are here to help Livingston businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Livingston, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Livingston, Montana
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Livingston.
- Resources for Livingston, Montana Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Livingston entrepreneurs.
- Montana Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Montana.
- Montana Small Business Development Center - The Montana Small Business Development Centers focus on the creation, retention and expansion of Montana small businesses.
- Livingston, Montana Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Livingston, Montana newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Livingston area.
- Livingston, Montana Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Livingston, Montana area radio stations.
- Livingston, Montana Payroll Services - This list includes Livingston, Montana payroll services, national payroll services for Livingston, and helpful information on choosing a Livingston payroll service.
- Livingston, Montana Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in Livingston, Montana, such as business brokers in Livingston and other helpful information on how to buy a Livingston business.
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