New Hampshire Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Amherst, New Hampshire

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

What Business to Start

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading 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 Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Remember that you are starting a business in Amherst. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Amherst. Study Amherst demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Amherst, New Hampshire Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
5832
5-9 Employees
1968
10-19 Employees
1368
20-49 Employees
600
50-99 Employees
288
100-249 Employees
0
250-499 Employees
24
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Amherst Businesses
10080

As a new Amherst entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Amherst 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
Architectural Services
2
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
1
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
12
Business Associations
1
Child Day Care Services
4
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Coffee and Tea Manufacturing
1
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Flexographic Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
1
Convenience Stores
1
Copper Wire (except Mechanical) Drawing
1
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
10
Custom Roll Forming
1
Dental Laboratories
1
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Electrical Contractors
5
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Engineering Services
6
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Fabric Coating Mills
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Floor Covering Stores
2
Florists
2
Framing Contractors
2
Full-Service Restaurants
4
Furniture Stores
2
General Automotive Repair
5
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
4
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
3
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
3
Home Health Care Services
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
7
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
2
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
7
Limousine Service
1
Machine Shops
2
Mail-Order Houses
1
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
1
Metal Stamping
1
Nail Salons
2
Nonwoven Fabric Mills
1
Office Administrative Services
1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
5
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Dentists
8
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
1
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing
1
Paint and Coating Manufacturing
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
3
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
5
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing
1
Portfolio Management
2
Public Relations Agencies
1
Quick Printing
1
Real Estate Credit
4
Remediation Services
1
Residential Remodelers
6
Sales Financing
1
Satellite Telecommunications
1
Savings Institutions
2
Securities Brokerage
2
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
5
Software Publishers
6
Sporting Goods Stores
3
Sports and Recreation Instruction
3
Tax Preparation Services
1
Testing Laboratories
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
1
Tire Dealers
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Tour Operators
1
Used Car Dealers
1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Veterinary Services
2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
10
Window Treatment Stores
1

Is Franchising a Better Option?

As you drive around Amherst, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Evidently, there must be some significant advantages to purchasing a franchise.

Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as How Franchises Work. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning 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 Amherst Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Amherst.

Choosing a Company Name

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Amherst, it's imperative that you check now that no other New Hampshire company is using the business name you want to use.

Promoting Your New Venture

To rise above the crowd in Amherst and build your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Internet Advertising 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 a must if you want your new Amherst business to do well.

The key to selling is to set sales goals goals and monitor your progress towards those goals. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

Cold Call Selling is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Never Give Up

Most new Amherst businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Amherst and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Amherst 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 Amherst, New Hampshire

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

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