Contemplating starting a business in Newport, Maine? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Newport.
What Business to Start
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Evaluating Your Idea.
If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Butterfly Hatcheries Business guide or our How to Start an Industrial & Construction Fasteners Retail Business guide.
Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in Newport. Some businesses will do better in Newport than others. A critical consideration is whether Newport demographics mesh well with your startup concept.
Newport, Maine Demographic Information
Newport has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Newport demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Newport.
| Business Size | # of Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
3315 |
| 5-9 Employees |
1530 |
| 10-19 Employees |
663 |
| 20-49 Employees |
561 |
| 50-99 Employees |
204 |
| 100-249 Employees |
0 |
| 250-499 Employees |
0 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Newport Businesses |
6273 |
As a new Newport entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Newport 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 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
2 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
1 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
|
Computer Systems Design Services |
2 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
2 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
1 |
| Flooring Contractors |
1 |
| Florists |
2 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
6 |
|
Furniture Stores |
1 |
| General Automotive Repair |
4 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
2 |
| Investment Advice |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
1 |
|
Landscape Architectural Services |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
3 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
1 |
| Marinas |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Musical Instrument Manufacturing |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
3 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
|
Offices of Chiropractors |
1 |
| Offices of Dentists |
1 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
4 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
2 |
| Quick Printing |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
1 |
|
Site Preparation Contractors |
2 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
1 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Testing Laboratories |
1 |
| Tobacco Stores |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
1 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
|
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
What About Buying an Existing Newport Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Maine. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Newport.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Selecting a Name For Your Company
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.
Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are planning on starting a business in Newport, it's critical that you ensure that no Maine company has already registered the company name you have selected.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Obtaining startup financing for your Newport business will be harder than you might expect. 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 Bank Credit Lines.
For Newport entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, you'll want to take a look at our List of Maine Angel Investors and our List of Maine Venture Capital Firms.
How to Sell
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Newport business, you need to focus on sales.
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.
Closing Sales offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
What's Next?
As an entrepreneur in Newport, 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.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Newport 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 Newport, Maine
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Newport.
- Resources for Newport, Maine Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Newport entrepreneurs.
- Maine Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Maine.
- Maine Small Business Development Center - Maine Small Business Development Centers and its technology-focused group, the Maine Small Business & Technology Development Centers, provide comprehensive business management assistance, training, resource and information services to Maine's entrepreneurs and small business owners.
- Newport, Maine Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Newport, Maine newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Newport area.
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