Are you starting a business in Wailuku, Hawaii? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Wailuku.
Is Becoming a Business Owner Right for You?
Before quitting your day job, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Wailuku. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
What Business to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
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 How to Start a Lighting Plants Business guide or our Opening a Tobacco Buyers & Redryers Business guide.
Don't forget that Wailuku is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in Wailuku than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Wailuku demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Wailuku, Hawaii Demographic Information
Wailuku has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Wailuku demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Wailuku.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
1350 |
| 5-9 Employees |
456 |
| 10-19 Employees |
312 |
| 20-49 Employees |
189 |
| 50-99 Employees |
57 |
| 100-249 Employees |
33 |
| 250-499 Employees |
3 |
| 500-999 Employees |
3 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Wailuku Businesses |
2403 |
As a new Wailuku entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Wailuku 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 |
1 |
| Appliance Repair and Maintenance |
1 |
| Architectural Services |
11 |
| Armored Car Services |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
2 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
5 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
10 |
| Bed-and-Breakfast Inns |
1 |
| Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
1 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Bowling Centers |
1 |
| Business Associations |
2 |
| Canvas and Related Product Mills |
2 |
| Caterers |
3 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
4 |
| Child Day Care Services |
3 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
4 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
1 |
| Collection Agencies |
2 |
| Commercial Bakeries |
3 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
3 |
| Commercial Screen Printing |
2 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Consumer Lending |
2 |
| Convenience Stores |
2 |
| Convention and Trade Show Organizers |
1 |
| Convention and Visitors Bureaus |
2 |
| Court Reporting and Stenotype Services |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
4 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
2 |
| Deep Sea Passenger Transportation |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
1 |
| Digital Printing |
1 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
12 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
2 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
12 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
2 |
| Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
14 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
7 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fish and Seafood Markets |
1 |
| Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
1 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
4 |
| Florists |
2 |
| Formal Wear and Costume Rental |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Canning |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
26 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
2 |
| General Automotive Repair |
7 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
3 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
4 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
4 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Grantmaking Foundations |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
3 |
| Hardware Stores |
2 |
| HMO Medical Centers |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
3 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
1 |
| Industrial Launderers |
2 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
14 |
| Investment Advice |
2 |
| Janitorial Services |
5 |
| Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing |
1 |
| Jewelry Stores |
6 |
| Kidney Dialysis Centers |
1 |
| Land Subdivision |
2 |
| Landscape Architectural Services |
2 |
| Landscaping Services |
8 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
19 |
| Limousine Service |
1 |
| Linen Supply |
1 |
| Local Messengers and Local Delivery |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
1 |
| Marine Cargo Handling |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
2 |
| Medical Laboratories |
2 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
2 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
3 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
1 |
| New Housing Operative Builders |
1 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
4 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
1 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
14 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
3 |
| Offices of Dentists |
25 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
47 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
5 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
5 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Periodical Publishers |
4 |
| Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing |
4 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
3 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
6 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Public Relations Agencies |
1 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
6 |
| Residential Property Managers |
5 |
| Residential Remodelers |
2 |
| Retail Bakeries |
1 |
| Reupholstery and Furniture Repair |
1 |
| Roofing Contractors |
4 |
| Rooming and Boarding Houses |
2 |
| Savings Institutions |
2 |
| Securities Brokerage |
4 |
| Security Guards and Patrol Services |
3 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
4 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
6 |
| Solid Waste Collection |
2 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
2 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Taxi Service |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Temporary Shelters |
2 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters |
2 |
| Tire Dealers |
1 |
| Toilet Preparation Manufacturing |
2 |
| Travel Agencies |
4 |
| Veterinary Services |
2 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
2 |
| Voluntary Health Organizations |
3 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
2 |
| Zoos and Botanical Gardens |
1 |
Should You Buy an Existing Wailuku Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Hawaii. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Wailuku.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Naming the Business
A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.
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: Branding Advice.
On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Wailuku, it's very important that you make sure you will be the only Hawaii company using the business name you have chosen.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Wailuku business 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.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as 504 Loans.
For Wailuku entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, browse our List of Hawaii Angel Investors and our List of Hawaii Venture Capital Firms.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
Good entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in Wailuku, Hawaii, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Hawaii educational institutions. We also recommend you look into Wailuku networking organizations.
Moving Forward
You have a dream -- starting a business in Wailuku. 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 Wailuku businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Wailuku 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 Wailuku, Hawaii
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Wailuku.
More Business Startup Guides for Hawaii
Starting a Business in Schofield Barracks
Starting a Business in Waipahu
Browse All
Business Startup Guides for Hawaii
