Maryland Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Salisbury, Maryland

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

Which Business to Choose?

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

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 Opening a Disciples of Christ Church guide or our Starting a Scrap & Waste Materials Business guide.

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

Salisbury, Maryland Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
17604
5-9 Employees
8316
10-19 Employees
6372
20-49 Employees
4590
50-99 Employees
1422
100-249 Employees
720
250-499 Employees
270
500-999 Employees
36
1000+ Employees
18
All Salisbury Businesses
39348

As a new Salisbury entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Salisbury 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
3
Ambulance Services
2
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
8
Automobile Driving Schools
2
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Automotive Transmission Repair
4
Beauty Salons
31
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Boat Building
2
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
7
Bowling Centers
2
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
1
Building Inspection Services
3
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
3
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Car Washes
7
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
2
Caterers
2
Cemeteries and Crematories
2
Child Day Care Services
15
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
2
Civic and Social Organizations
14
Claims Adjusting
4
Clothing Accessories Stores
3
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
4
Collection Agencies
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Commercial Screen Printing
2
Community Food Services
3
Computer and Software Stores
6
Computer Systems Design Services
6
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Consumer Lending
3
Convenience Stores
16
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
5
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Bureaus
1
Credit Unions
6
Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
5
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Display Advertising
1
Document Preparation Services
2
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
11
Educational Support Services
1
Electric Power Distribution
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
6
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Employment Placement Agencies
4
Engineering Services
12
Environmental Consulting Services
2
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
10
Family Clothing Stores
10
Family Planning Centers
1
Farm Product Warehousing and Storage
3
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fine Arts Schools
4
Finish Carpentry Contractors
4
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
14
Flooring Contractors
5
Florists
7
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
5
Food Service Contractors
6
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
2
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
2
Full-Service Restaurants
53
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
6
Furniture Stores
9
General Automotive Repair
10
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
11
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Grantmaking Foundations
3
Graphic Design Services
5
Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal
1
Heating Oil Dealers
6
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
4
Home Centers
3
Home Health Care Services
6
Home Health Equipment Rental
3
Homes for the Elderly
5
Human Rights Organizations
1
Industrial Launderers
5
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
38
Interior Design Services
1
Internet Service Providers
1
Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
1
Investigation Services
1
Iron and Steel Mills
1
Janitorial Services
21
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing
1
Jewelry Stores
13
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
2
Landscape Architectural Services
2
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
3
Libraries and Archives
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
72
Linen Supply
1
Logging
2
Machine Shops
4
Mail-Order Houses
2
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
12
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
4
Men's Clothing Stores
5
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
4
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Museums
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
2
Nail Salons
5
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
5
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
3
Nursing Care Facilities
11
Office Administrative Services
7
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
3
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
25
Offices of Dentists
41
Offices of Lawyers
57
Offices of Optometrists
3
Offices of Other Holding Companies
4
Offices of Podiatrists
3
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
17
Optical Goods Stores
7
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
6
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
13
Parking Lots and Garages
1
Passenger Car Rental
1
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
3
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
3
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
12
Photography Studios, Portrait
10
Port and Harbor Operations
1
Portfolio Management
1
Poultry Processing
1
Professional Organizations
3
Quick Printing
2
Radio Stations
12
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
14
Real Estate Investment Trusts
2
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
2
Residential Remodelers
33
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
2
Roofing Contractors
3
Sales Financing
1
Sanitary Paper Product Manufacturing
1
Savings Institutions
3
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
10
Security Guards and Patrol Services
2
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Ship Building and Repairing
1
Shoe Stores
13
Siding Contractors
2
Sign Manufacturing
4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
7
Soft Drink Manufacturing
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Soybean Processing
3
Special Needs Transportation
1
Sporting Goods Stores
8
Sports and Recreation Instruction
3
Tax Preparation Services
6
Taxi Service
3
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Telephone Answering Services
2
Television Broadcasting
1
Temporary Help Services
8
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
2
Tire Dealers
9
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
5
Travel Agencies
4
Used Car Dealers
7
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Used Merchandise Stores
6
Vending Machine Operators
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
5
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
6
Voluntary Health Organizations
3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
3
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
8
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
11

Should You Franchise?

As you drive around Salisbury, you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Most business experts recommend that you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising Mistakes. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Sample franchise opportunities include TravelCenters of America, Inc. and Lil' Pals Pet Photography. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Construction Franchises and Home Services Franchises.

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

Choosing a Company 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.

Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Branding Advice.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Salisbury, it's critical that you ensure that no other Maryland company is using the business name you want to use.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Getting your Salisbury business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Only Idiots Send Venture Capitalists Business Plans.

For Salisbury entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Maryland Angel Investors and our List of Maryland Venture Capital Firms.

Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge

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

Given that you are starting a business in Salisbury, Maryland, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Maryland universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Salisbury entrepreneurs.

Never Give Up

As an entrepreneur in Salisbury, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Salisbury businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Salisbury entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Salisbury, Maryland

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

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