Starting a Business in Rumford, Maine

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

Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?

Before you get too far along in the process, consider 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:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Rumford. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
• We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
• Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.

What Business Are You Starting?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read 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 Cremation Urns Business guide or our How to Start a Home Demonstration Merchandise Business guide.

Don't forget that starting a business in Rumford has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Rumford than others. Study Rumford demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Rumford, Maine Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	270
5-9 Employees	138
10-19 Employees	66
20-49 Employees	27
50-99 Employees	15
100-249 Employees	3
250-499 Employees	0
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	3
All Rumford Businesses	522

As a new Rumford entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Rumford 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
Beauty Salons	3
Book Stores	1
Bowling Centers	1
Business Associations	1
Cable and Other Program Distribution	1
Child Day Care Services	2
Civic and Social Organizations	5
Commercial Flexographic Printing	1
Commercial Screen Printing	1
Convenience Stores	1
Credit Unions	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	2
Electric Power Distribution	1
Electrical Contractors	1
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Family Clothing Stores	1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	1
Floor Covering Stores	1
Florists	1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation	1
Full-Service Restaurants	6
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	2
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	4
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	1
General Rental Centers	1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	3
Hardware Stores	1
Heating Oil Dealers	2
Home Health Equipment Rental	1
Industrial Building Construction	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	7
Investment Advice	1
Janitorial Services	1
Jewelry Stores	1
Landscaping Services	1
Language Schools	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	4
Logging	2
Masonry Contractors	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	1
New Car Dealers	1
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Nursing Care Facilities	1
Offices of Chiropractors	3
Offices of Dentists	4
Offices of Lawyers	4
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores	1
Paper (except Newsprint) Mills	1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Residential Property Managers	1
Residential Remodelers	3
Savings Institutions	2
Site Preparation Contractors	2
Skiing Facilities	2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	3
Tax Preparation Services	1
Used Merchandise Stores	1
Veterinary Services	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Voluntary Health Organizations	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	1

Have You Considered Franchising?

As you drive around Rumford, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our advice is to investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchise Law. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Sociale Make & Take Gourmet and H&R Block. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Sports Franchises and Carpet Retail Franchises.

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

Should You Buy an Existing Rumford Business?

We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Maine. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Rumford.

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

Picking a Business Name

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.

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?

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 Rumford, it's very important that you make sure no other Maine company is using the business name you want to use.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

Good entrepreneurs recognize that what they know now may not be enough to ensure their future success.

With your business being located in Rumford, Maine, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Maine universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Rumford entrepreneurs.

Never Give Up

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

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Rumford and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Rumford, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Rumford, Maine

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

• Resources for Rumford, Maine Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Rumford 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.
• Rumford, Maine Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Rumford, Maine newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Rumford area.

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