Thinking about starting a business in Waterville, Maine? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Waterville.
Are You Ready for the Challenges of Being an Entrepreneur?
Most startup ventures fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Waterville. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- You should read The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. 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.
Waterville, Maine Demographic Information
Waterville has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Waterville demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Waterville.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
8953 |
| 5-9 Employees |
4256 |
| 10-19 Employees |
2625 |
| 20-49 Employees |
1512 |
| 50-99 Employees |
483 |
| 100-249 Employees |
315 |
| 250-499 Employees |
63 |
| 500-999 Employees |
42 |
| 1000+ Employees |
21 |
| All Waterville Businesses |
18270 |
As a new Waterville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Waterville 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 |
| Ambulance Services |
1 |
| Amusement Arcades |
1 |
| Automotive Glass Replacement Shops |
2 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
9 |
| Baked Goods Stores |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
11 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Book Publishers |
2 |
| Book Stores |
2 |
| Bowling Centers |
2 |
| Business Associations |
2 |
| Car Washes |
3 |
| Caterers |
1 |
| Child and Youth Services |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
12 |
| Civic and Social Organizations |
8 |
| Claims Adjusting |
2 |
| Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners |
2 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
2 |
| Computer Facilities Management Services |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
6 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
4 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Credit Unions |
6 |
| Curtain and Drapery Mills |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
3 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
5 |
| Discount Department Stores |
3 |
| Doll and Stuffed Toy Manufacturing |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
3 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
2 |
| Electrical Contractors |
5 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
6 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
5 |
| Fish and Seafood Markets |
2 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
3 |
| Flooring Contractors |
3 |
| Florists |
4 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Food Service Contractors |
2 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Markets |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
35 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
5 |
| Furniture Stores |
3 |
| General Automotive Repair |
14 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
2 |
| General Rental Centers |
3 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
5 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
3 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
5 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
2 |
| Home Centers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
4 |
| Home Health Equipment Rental |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
3 |
| Household Appliance Stores |
3 |
| Hydroelectric Power Generation |
2 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
15 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investigation Services |
2 |
| Investment Advice |
4 |
| Janitorial Services |
5 |
| Jewelry Stores |
4 |
| Landscaping Services |
4 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
22 |
| Logging |
2 |
| Machine Shops |
4 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
2 |
| Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers |
2 |
| Masonry Contractors |
1 |
| Materials Recovery Facilities |
1 |
| Meat Markets |
1 |
| Mobile Food Services |
1 |
| Motion Picture and Video Distribution |
1 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
1 |
| Museums |
1 |
| Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
8 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
1 |
| Nursing Care Facilities |
2 |
| Office Administrative Services |
1 |
| Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
5 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
10 |
| Offices of Dentists |
21 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
20 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
4 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
3 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
1 |
| One-Hour Photofinishing |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
2 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
6 |
| Passenger Car Rental |
1 |
| Payroll Services |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
7 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
4 |
| Portfolio Management |
3 |
| Real Estate Credit |
2 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
2 |
| Residential Remodelers |
5 |
| Retail Bakeries |
2 |
| Roofing Contractors |
1 |
| Rooming and Boarding Houses |
1 |
| Rope, Cordage, and Twine Mills |
1 |
| Savings Institutions |
7 |
| Securities Brokerage |
5 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
3 |
| Siding Contractors |
2 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
4 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
11 |
| Solid Waste Landfill |
1 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
1 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Temporary Shelters |
1 |
| Tire Dealers |
4 |
| Tobacco Stores |
3 |
| Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing |
2 |
| Used Car Dealers |
7 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
7 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1 |
| Veterinary Services |
5 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
4 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
1 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
4 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
6 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
1 |
What About Franchising Opportunities?
As you drive around Waterville, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
Our recommendation is that you look into purchasing a franchise. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Detecting Franchising Scams. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include The eYardSale.com and U.S. Lawns, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Apparel Franchises and Healthcare Franchises.
Note on Waterville Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Waterville, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
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.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Waterville, it's imperative that you check now that no other Maine company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Waterville, Maine
It's very important that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. The primary advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.
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. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Maine, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Maine. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as How to Incorporate. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Waterville, Maine, our information on Incorporating in Maine may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Maine.
Raising Money for Your Venture
Getting your Waterville business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. 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 securing funding, such as 504 Loans.
For Waterville entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of Maine Angel Investors and our List of Maine Venture Capital Firms.
Never Give Up
Most new Waterville businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Waterville businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Waterville, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Waterville, Maine
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Waterville.
- Resources for Waterville, Maine Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Waterville 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.
- Waterville, Maine Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Waterville, Maine newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Waterville area.
- Waterville, Maine Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Waterville, Maine area radio stations.
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