Connecticut Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in New Haven, Connecticut
Are you starting a business in New Haven, Connecticut? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in New Haven.
Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?
Most new businesses don't make it, in part because the business owner did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in New Haven. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
New Haven, Connecticut Demographic Information
New Haven has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for New Haven demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in New Haven.
Businesses
As a new New Haven entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in New Haven 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.
Businesses
What About Franchising Opportunities?
As you drive around New Haven, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
We highly recommend you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as How Franchises Work. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Milex Tune Up and Brake and American Business Advantage. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Restaurant Services Franchises and Florist Franchises.
Note on New Haven Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in New Haven.
Naming the Business
Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.
Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in New Haven, it's imperative that you check now that no other Connecticut company is using the business name you want to use.
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. 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 is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Connecticut.
Promoting Your New Company
To grow your New Haven business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Television Advertising Rates discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Never Give Up
Most new New Haven businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in New Haven and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 New Haven, Connecticut
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in New Haven.
- Resources for New Haven, Connecticut Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist New Haven entrepreneurs.
- Connecticut Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Connecticut.
- Connecticut Small Business Development Center - Central Connecticut State University's Institute of Technology and Business Development (ITBD) supports Connecticut businesses and business-related organizations with training, technology assistance, conferencing services, procurement services and business incubation.
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