Florida Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in North Fort Myers, Florida

Thinking about starting a business in North Fort Myers, Florida? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in North Fort Myers.

What Business to Start

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Finding Your Niche in Life.

For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Theme Weddings Business guide or our Starting a Veterans' Affairs Business guide.

Don't forget that starting a business in North Fort Myers has some implications. Some businesses will do better in North Fort Myers than others. Don't forget to review North Fort Myers demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

North Fort Myers, Florida Demographic Information

North Fort Myers has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1887
5-9 Employees
441
10-19 Employees
405
20-49 Employees
198
50-99 Employees
48
100-249 Employees
36
250-499 Employees
9
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
0
All North Fort Myers Businesses
3027

As a new North Fort Myers entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in North Fort Myers 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
Ambulance Services
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Armored Car Services
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Boat Building
3
Boat Dealers
5
Building Inspection Services
2
Business Associations
3
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Car Washes
2
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
10
Civic and Social Organizations
6
Claims Adjusting
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
3
Computer Systems Design Services
5
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Consumer Lending
2
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
6
Couriers
1
Credit Bureaus
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Digital Printing
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Display Advertising
4
Document Preparation Services
2
Drafting Services
3
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
11
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
14
Electronic Shopping
3
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
8
Family Clothing Stores
4
Fine Arts Schools
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
9
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
5
Flooring Contractors
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
3
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Framing Contractors
4
Full-Service Restaurants
29
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
4
Furniture Stores
4
General Automotive Repair
13
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
4
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
3
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Stores
4
Home Health Care Services
2
Homes for the Elderly
2
Hunting and Trapping
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
14
Investigation Services
1
Janitorial Services
7
Jewelry Stores
4
Land Subdivision
5
Landscaping Services
20
Language Schools
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
15
Limited-Service Restaurants
19
Limousine Service
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
2
Mail-Order Houses
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
3
Marinas
2
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Masonry Contractors
5
Medical Laboratories
2
Mobile Food Services
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Nail Salons
1
Natural Gas Liquid Extraction
1
New Car Dealers
2
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
3
Office Administrative Services
2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
3
Offices of Chiropractors
5
Offices of Dentists
5
Offices of Lawyers
8
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
3
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packing and Crating
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
13
Passenger Car Rental
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
5
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Portfolio Management
1
Prepress Services
1
Private Mail Centers
2
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Recreational Goods Rental
1
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Residential Property Managers
4
Residential Remodelers
14
Roofing Contractors
4
Sales Financing
1
Securities Brokerage
2
Septic Tank and Related Services
2
Sewage Treatment Facilities
1
Shoe Stores
4
Siding Contractors
2
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
13
Software Publishers
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
4
Tax Preparation Services
6
Temporary Help Services
4
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
3
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tobacco Stores
1
Translation and Interpretation Services
1
Travel Agencies
2
Truss Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
13
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
4
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
6
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
5
Women's Clothing Stores
2

Should You Franchise?

Visit the business district of North Fort Myers and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Our recommendation is that you look into purchasing a franchise. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Credit and Franchise Purchasing. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

You can review hundreds of franchise opportunities by browing our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include The Johnny Rockets Group, Inc. and The Right One. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Franchises that Serve Liquor and Hair Styling Franchises.

Note on North Fort Myers Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in North Fort Myers.

What About Buying an Existing North Fort Myers Business?

We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Florida. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in North Fort Myers.

If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: Buying a Business.

Selecting a Name For Your Startup

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: Branding Advice.

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in North Fort Myers, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another Florida business.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Raising money to fund your new North Fort Myers business is a difficult chore. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Choosing VC Firms.

For North Fort Myers entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, browse our List of Florida Angel Investors and our List of Florida Venture Capital Firms.

Never Give Up

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

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 North Fort Myers 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 North Fort Myers, Florida

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in North Fort Myers.

  • Resources for North Fort Myers, Florida Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist North Fort Myers entrepreneurs.
  • Florida Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Florida.
  • Florida Small Business Development Center - The Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDCN) is a statewide economic development partnership between higher education and other stakeholder organizations dedicated to providing entrepreneurs and established businesses with the assistance needed to start, grow and succeed, contributing to the Florida economy.

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