Montana Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Great Falls, Montana
Are you starting a business in Great Falls, Montana? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Great Falls.
Do You Have What It Takes?
An entrepreneurial life is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Great Falls. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- 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. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.
What Business Are You Starting?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Good 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 Opening a Billiard Table Dealers Business guide or our Opening a Radiology Podiatry Physicians & Surgeons Business guide.
Always keep in mind that starting a business in Great Falls has some implications. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Great Falls. Make sure you fully understand Great Falls demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Great Falls, Montana Demographic Information
Great Falls has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Great Falls demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Great Falls.
Businesses
As a new Great Falls entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Great Falls 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
Have You Considered Franchising?
Visit the business district of Great Falls and you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. Is there a franchise opportunity out there that makes sense for you?
Most business experts recommend that you investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchise Law. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Representative franchise opportunities include Rita's Ices, Cones, Shakes & other Cool Stuff and Concrete Raising of America. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Specialty Foods Franchises and Health and Beauty Franchises.
Note on Great Falls Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Great Falls, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
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.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Great Falls, it's critical that you ensure that no other Montana company is using the business name you want to use.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Company
Whether your goal is to attract Great Falls customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Transit Advertising is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Now It's Up To You
As an entrepreneur in Great Falls, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Great Falls and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Great Falls, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Great Falls, Montana
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Great Falls.
- Resources for Great Falls, Montana Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Great Falls entrepreneurs.
- Montana Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Montana.
- Montana Small Business Development Center - The Montana Small Business Development Centers focus on the creation, retention and expansion of Montana small businesses.
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