New Hampshire Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Dover, New Hampshire
Thinking about starting a business in Dover, New Hampshire? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Dover.
Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?
Most new businesses fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed 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:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Dover. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- You should read Starting a Company. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Talk it over with a close friend or partner. 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.
Dover, New Hampshire Demographic Information
Dover has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Dover demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Dover.
Businesses
As a new Dover entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Dover 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.
Businesses
Should You Franchise?
Visit the business district of Dover and you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. On our site, you can read many articles about franchising, such as Protecting Your Franchise Territory. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Back Yard Burgers, Inc. and Deck Renewal Systems USA. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Vending Franchises and eBay Franchises.
Note on Dover Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Dover.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Raising money to fund your new Dover 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.
Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Business Line of Credit.
For Dover entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of New Hampshire Angel Investors and our List of New Hampshire Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Venture
To rise above the crowd in Dover and build your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.
We have some useful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Advertising in Magazines 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.
The Art of Selling
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Dover business to do well.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Writing Great Proposals is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge
The best entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Dover, New Hampshire, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby New Hampshire universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any Dover networking organizations.
Never Give Up
Most new Dover 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 Dover businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Dover 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 Dover, New Hampshire
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Dover.
- Resources for Dover, New Hampshire Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Dover entrepreneurs.
- New Hampshire Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in New Hampshire.
- New Hampshire Small Business Development Center - The New Hampshire Small Business Development Center offers free, one-on-one, confidential business counseling, low cost training programs, and other great services for New Hampshire entrepreneurs.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in New Hampshire
Starting a Business in Derry
Starting a Business in Durham
Browse All Business Startup Guides for New Hampshire
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs