Starting a Business in Norway, Maine

Are you starting a business in Norway, Maine? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Norway.

Do You Have What It Takes?

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

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:

• Speak with other entrepreneurs in Norway. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
• 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. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

Norway, Maine Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1605
5-9 Employees	570
10-19 Employees	420
20-49 Employees	150
50-99 Employees	30
100-249 Employees	30
250-499 Employees	15
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All Norway Businesses	2820

As a new Norway entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Norway 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 Parts and Accessories Stores	1
Barber Shops	1
Cemeteries and Crematories	1
Child and Youth Services	3
Child Day Care Services	4
Civic and Social Organizations	1
Commercial Screen Printing	1
Computer and Software Stores	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers	1
Convenience Stores	2
Diagnostic Imaging Centers	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	1
Electrical Contractors	3
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Facilities Support Services	1
Floor Covering Stores	2
Florists	1
Full-Service Restaurants	4
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
General Automotive Repair	3
General Freight Trucking, Local	2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs	1
Hardware Stores	2
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Hydroelectric Power Generation	1
Industrial Launderers	1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing	1
Industrial Pattern Manufacturing	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	2
Landscaping Services	1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	7
Machine Shops	1
Mail-Order Houses	1
Marinas	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Men's Clothing Stores	1
Motion Picture and Video Production	1
Newspaper Publishers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	2
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	5
Offices of Lawyers	2
Offices of Optometrists	3
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing	2
Quick Printing	1
Radio Stations	2
Residential Remodelers	1
Rooming and Boarding Houses	1
Savings Institutions	1
Shoe Stores	1
Site Preparation Contractors	3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	2
Solid Waste Collection	3
Sporting Goods Stores	3
Television Broadcasting	1
Temporary Shelters	1
Used Car Dealers	3
Veterinary Services	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	2
Women's Clothing Stores	1

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

As you drive around Norway, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Is there a franchise opportunity out there that makes sense for you?

We highly recommend you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Protecting Your Franchise Territory. 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.

Representative franchise opportunities include R.J. Gator and Frozen Ropes Training Centers. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Cell Phone Franchises and Automotive Services Franchises.

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

Company Formation in Norway, Maine

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in Maine, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Maine. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Norway, Maine, our information on Incorporating in Maine may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Maine.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Outsourcing. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Maine.

Promoting Your New Business

Whether your goal is to attract Norway customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Billboard Advertising Best Practices is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Now It's Up To You

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

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Norway 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 Norway, Maine

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

• Resources for Norway, Maine Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Norway 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.
• Norway, Maine Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Norway, Maine newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Norway area.
• Norway, Maine Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Norway, Maine area radio stations.

More Startup Articles for Maine Cities
Starting a Business in Newport
Starting a Business in Old Town

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Maine