Maine Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Camden, Maine

Contemplating starting a business in Camden, Maine? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Camden.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new companies fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

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 Camden. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Camden, Maine Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
8580
5-9 Employees
2379
10-19 Employees
1170
20-49 Employees
546
50-99 Employees
78
100-249 Employees
195
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Camden Businesses
12948

As a new Camden entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Camden 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
Ambulance Services
1
Architectural Services
4
Art Dealers
2
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
1
Beauty Salons
4
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
13
Book Stores
1
Business Associations
2
Canvas and Related Product Mills
2
Car Washes
1
Caterers
1
Child Day Care Services
4
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Collection Agencies
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Convenience Stores
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
3
Document Preparation Services
1
Electrical Contractors
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Engineering Services
3
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
5
Finish Carpentry Contractors
3
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
1
Florists
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Full-Service Restaurants
12
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
General Automotive Repair
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
7
Graphic Design Services
3
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
1
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
2
Jewelry Stores
2
Landscaping Services
5
Limited-Service Restaurants
7
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Marinas
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
6
Nail Salons
2
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
6
Offices of Lawyers
9
Packing and Crating
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
5
Periodical Publishers
1
Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Political Organizations
1
Quick Printing
2
Residential Property Managers
3
Residential Remodelers
2
Retail Bakeries
1
Rooming and Boarding Houses
1
Securities Brokerage
2
Site Preparation Contractors
2
Tire Dealers
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tour Operators
1
Travel Agencies
1
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Camden Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Maine. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Camden.

For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.

Naming the Company

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.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.

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

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Maine.

Marketing Your New Venture

Whether your goal is to attract Camden customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a excellent marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Dealing with Angry Customers discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

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

Given that you are starting a business in Camden, 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 groups or organizations in which Camden entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Next Steps

Most new Camden 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 Camden and elsewhere to achieve real success. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Camden, Maine

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

  • Resources for Camden, Maine Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Camden 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.

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