Starting a Business in Piscataway, New Jersey

Thinking about starting a business in Piscataway, New Jersey? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Piscataway.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new companies don't make it, in part because the business owner did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before jumping into the world of entrepreneurship, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Piscataway. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
• We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Good Business Ideas.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Piscataway. Some businesses will do better in Piscataway than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Piscataway demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Piscataway, New Jersey Demographic Information

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

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

As a new Piscataway entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Piscataway 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.

Is Franchising a Better Option?

As you drive around Piscataway, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. But is franchising the right option for you?

We highly recommend you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as How to Franchise. 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 Subway Franchises and Starbucks Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Moving Franchises.

Note on Piscataway Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Piscataway, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Piscataway Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in New Jersey. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Piscataway.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Naming the Company

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.

Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Business.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Piscataway, it's imperative that you check now that your company name has not already been claimed by another New Jersey business.

Forming a Company in Piscataway, New Jersey

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

When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in New Jersey, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in New Jersey. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Getting an EIN. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Piscataway, New Jersey, our web page covering Incorporating in New Jersey may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in New Jersey.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

A business plan is essential 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 Mistakes. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in New Jersey.

Startup Financing Basics

Raising money to fund your new Piscataway business is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Getting a Small Business Loan.

For Piscataway entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, we have assembled a List of New Jersey Angel Investors and our List of New Jersey Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Venture

To grow your Piscataway business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Toll Free Numbers discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

The Art of Selling

Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Piscataway business to do well.

Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Selling on the Phone is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Good entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

With your business being located in Piscataway, New Jersey, you should get information on some of the many programs available at nearby New Jersey universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Piscataway entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

Most new Piscataway 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 Piscataway businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Piscataway, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Piscataway, New Jersey

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

• Resources for Piscataway, New Jersey Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Piscataway entrepreneurs.
• New Jersey Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in New Jersey.
• New Jersey Small Business Development Center - The New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (NJSBDC) network helps New Jersey small businesses expand operations, manage growth or launch new ventures. With offices in every county of the state, NJSBDC consultants help small business owners finance, market and manage their ventures.
• Piscataway, New Jersey Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Piscataway, New Jersey newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Piscataway area.