Thinking about starting a business in North Adams, Massachusetts? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in North Adams.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Most startup companies don't make it, in part because the business owner did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in North Adams. 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.
North Adams, Massachusetts Demographic Information
North Adams has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for North Adams demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in North Adams.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1298 |
| 5-9 Employees |
432 |
| 10-19 Employees |
366 |
| 20-49 Employees |
228 |
| 50-99 Employees |
66 |
| 100-249 Employees |
30 |
| 250-499 Employees |
12 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All North Adams Businesses |
2432 |
As a new North Adams entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in North Adams 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 |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
6 |
| Beauty Salons |
4 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
4 |
|
Book Publishers |
2 |
| Book Stores |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
2 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Car Washes |
1 |
| Caterers |
3 |
| Child and Youth Services |
2 |
| Child Day Care Services |
3 |
|
Civic and Social Organizations |
7 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
2 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
5 |
| Community Food Services |
2 |
| Concrete Pipe Manufacturing |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
2 |
| Credit Unions |
3 |
| Directory and Mailing List Publishers |
1 |
|
Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
8 |
| Electric Power Distribution |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
5 |
| Electronic Capacitor Manufacturing |
1 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
1 |
|
Facilities Support Services |
1 |
| Family Planning Centers |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
1 |
| Flooring Contractors |
2 |
| Florists |
1 |
| Fluid Milk Manufacturing |
1 |
|
Food Service Contractors |
3 |
| Framing Contractors |
2 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
13 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Stores |
2 |
| General Automotive Repair |
8 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
|
General Rental Centers |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
3 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
4 |
|
Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
2 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
6 |
| Internet Publishing and Broadcasting |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
3 |
| Jewelry Stores |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
4 |
|
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
13 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
1 |
| Metal Stamping |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
|
Museums |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
3 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
2 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
4 |
|
Offices of Chiropractors |
2 |
| Offices of Dentists |
7 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
5 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
1 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
2 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
1 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
|
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
8 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
4 |
| Political Organizations |
1 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Precision Turned Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Remediation Services |
2 |
| Repossession Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
2 |
|
Residential Remodelers |
3 |
| Retail Bakeries |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
3 |
| School and Employee Bus Transportation |
3 |
| Securities Brokerage |
2 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
1 |
| Septic Tank and Related Services |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
3 |
|
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
4 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Television Broadcasting |
1 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Textile Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
3 |
|
Used Car Dealers |
3 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
1 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
1 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
|
Women's Clothing Stores |
2 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing North Adams Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Massachusetts. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in North Adams.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.
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.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in North Adams, it's imperative that you check now that no Massachusetts company has already registered the company name you have selected.
Startup Financing Basics
Obtaining startup financing for your North Adams business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Business Incubators.
For North Adams entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Massachusetts Angel Investors and our List of Massachusetts Venture Capital Firms.
Promoting Your New Company
To rise above the crowd in North Adams and grow your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Business Logo Design 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.
Next Steps
Most new North Adams businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help North Adams businesses to be successful. 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 North Adams, Massachusetts
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in North Adams.
- Resources for North Adams, Massachusetts Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist North Adams entrepreneurs.
- Massachusetts Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Massachusetts.
- Massachusetts Small Business Development Center - The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network provides one-to-one free comprehensive and confidential services focusing on, business growth and strategies, financing and loan assistance as well as strategic, marketing and operational analysis.
- North Adams, Massachusetts Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for North Adams, Massachusetts newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the North Adams area.
- North Adams, Massachusetts Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for North Adams, Massachusetts area radio stations.
- North Adams, Massachusetts Payroll Services - This list includes North Adams, Massachusetts payroll services, national payroll services for North Adams, and helpful information on choosing a North Adams payroll service.
- North Adams, Massachusetts Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in North Adams, Massachusetts, such as business brokers in North Adams and other helpful information on how to buy a North Adams business.
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