Opening a Business in Los Alamos, New Mexico

Contemplating starting a business in Los Alamos, New Mexico? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Los Alamos.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before you get too far along in the process, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

Before you move forward with starting a business, be sure to do these three things:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Los Alamos. 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.

Los Alamos, New Mexico Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1236
5-9 Employees	522
10-19 Employees	462
20-49 Employees	204
50-99 Employees	66
100-249 Employees	24
250-499 Employees	6
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	6
All Los Alamos Businesses	2526

As a new Los Alamos entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Los Alamos 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	3
Art Dealers	1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	2
Beauty Salons	3
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns	2
Book Publishers	1
Book Stores	2
Building Inspection Services	1
Business to Business Electronic Markets	1
Cable and Other Program Distribution	2
Cafeterias	1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Caterers	1
Child Day Care Services	4
Civic and Social Organizations	5
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Computer and Software Stores	3
Computer Systems Design Services	3
Computer Training	1
Credit Bureaus	1
Credit Unions	4
Custom Computer Programming Services	11
Dental Laboratories	1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1
Educational Support Services	1
Electrical Contractors	6
Elementary and Secondary Schools	2
Engineering Services	15
Environmental Consulting Services	7
Facilities Support Services	2
Family Clothing Stores	1
Family Planning Centers	1
Fine Arts Schools	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	9
Floor Covering Stores	1
Florists	2
Food Service Contractors	2
Freight Transportation Arrangement	2
Full-Service Restaurants	17
General Automotive Repair	4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	2
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers	1
Hardware Stores	1
Historical Sites	1
Home Health Care Services	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	6
Internet Service Providers	1
Investment Advice	1
Janitorial Services	3
Land Subdivision	1
Landscaping Services	7
Limited-Service Restaurants	12
Locksmiths	1
Machine Shops	3
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	2
Offices of Chiropractors	2
Offices of Dentists	13
Offices of Lawyers	5
Offices of Optometrists	2
Offices of Podiatrists	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	2
Passenger Car Rental	1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Photography Studios, Portrait	1
Radio Stations	1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing	1
Real Estate Credit	1
Residential Property Managers	1
Residential Remodelers	6
Roofing Contractors	1
Securities Brokerage	2
Security Guards and Patrol Services	1
Site Preparation Contractors	1
Skiing Facilities	1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	2
Software Publishers	2
Sports and Recreation Instruction	2
Tax Preparation Services	1
Temporary Help Services	1
Testing Laboratories	1
Travel Agencies	1
Used Car Dealers	1
Vending Machine Operators	1
Veterinary Services	2
Video Tape and Disc Rental	2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	2
Women's Clothing Stores	1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Los Alamos Business?

We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in New Mexico. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Los Alamos.

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Writing a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Free Business Plan Templates. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in New Mexico.

Marketing Your New Venture

To grow your Los Alamos business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.

You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Seven Marketing Ideas for Your Small Business is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

The Art of Selling

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Los Alamos or are selling to customers throughout New Mexico, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. 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.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Los Alamos. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Los Alamos 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 Los Alamos, New Mexico

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

• Resources for Los Alamos, New Mexico Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Los Alamos entrepreneurs.
• New Mexico Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in New Mexico.
• New Mexico Small Business Development Center - New Mexico Small Business Development Centers provide quality direct assistance, entrepreneurial education and resource links for potential and existing small businesses to strengthen the economy of New Mexico.
• Los Alamos, New Mexico Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Los Alamos, New Mexico newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Los Alamos area.

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