Montana Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Kalispell, Montana

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

What Type of Business Should You Start?

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? 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 Starting a Sunroofs Business guide or our Opening a Time Locks Business guide.

Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Kalispell. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Kalispell. A critical consideration is whether Kalispell demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Kalispell, Montana Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
4201
5-9 Employees
1320
10-19 Employees
762
20-49 Employees
516
50-99 Employees
99
100-249 Employees
60
250-499 Employees
12
500-999 Employees
6
1000+ Employees
3
All Kalispell Businesses
6979

As a new Kalispell entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Kalispell 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
Air Traffic Control
1
Ambulance Services
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
10
Armored Car Services
2
Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
6
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
17
Automotive Transmission Repair
2
Baked Goods Stores
3
Beauty Salons
8
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Boat Dealers
4
Book Stores
6
Bowling Centers
1
Breweries
1
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
1
Building Inspection Services
2
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
2
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Car Washes
8
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
5
Casinos (except Casino Hotels)
3
Caterers
3
Child and Youth Services
7
Child Day Care Services
27
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
11
Claims Adjusting
3
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Coffee and Tea Manufacturing
1
Collection Agencies
8
Commercial Lithographic Printing
4
Commercial Photography
3
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Commodity Contracts Brokerage
1
Commodity Contracts Dealing
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer Systems Design Services
4
Computer Training
1
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Consumer Lending
8
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
1
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
3
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Unions
3
Curtain and Drapery Mills
2
Custom Computer Programming Services
9
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
4
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Digital Printing
1
Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying
2
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
4
Document Preparation Services
2
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
9
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
13
Electric Power Distribution
3
Electrical Contractors
43
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
4
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Engineering Services
21
Environmental Consulting Services
4
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
6
Family Planning Centers
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
12
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
7
Floor Covering Stores
9
Flooring Contractors
7
Florists
5
Fluid Milk Manufacturing
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
6
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Framing Contractors
18
Freight Transportation Arrangement
3
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
31
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Stores
9
General Automotive Repair
25
General Freight Trucking, Local
7
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
2
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
7
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
4
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Stores
5
Historical Sites
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
4
Home Centers
4
Home Health Care Services
5
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
5
Household Appliance Stores
5
Human Rights Organizations
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
43
Interior Design Services
5
Internet Service Providers
1
Investigation Services
5
Investment Advice
3
Janitorial Services
15
Jewelry Stores
6
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
13
Landscaping Services
33
Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
4
Limited-Service Restaurants
35
Limousine Service
2
Linen Supply
2
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
2
Logging
29
Machine Shops
10
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
4
Marinas
1
Marketing Consulting Services
5
Masonry Contractors
18
Materials Recovery Facilities
1
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mobile Food Services
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
6
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Musical Groups and Artists
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
New Car Dealers
8
New Housing Operative Builders
4
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
2
Office Administrative Services
6
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
4
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
5
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
27
Offices of Chiropractors
19
Offices of Dentists
29
Offices of Optometrists
5
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Offices of Podiatrists
3
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
5
One-Hour Photofinishing
2
Optical Goods Stores
3
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
5
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
15
Parking Lots and Garages
1
Passenger Car Leasing
1
Passenger Car Rental
2
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
4
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
3
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
3
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
9
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Prepress Services
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Quick Printing
3
Racetracks
1
Radio Stations
4
Real Estate Credit
13
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
5
Repossession Services
3
Residential Property Managers
7
Retail Bakeries
3
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
3
Roofing Contractors
14
Rooming and Boarding Houses
1
Sales Financing
2
Savings Institutions
2
Sawmills
2
School and Employee Bus Transportation
7
Securities Brokerage
9
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
2
Shoe Stores
6
Siding Contractors
7
Site Preparation Contractors
27
Small Arms Ammunition Manufacturing
1
Small Arms Manufacturing
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
15
Software Publishers
2
Solid Waste Collection
1
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
3
Support Activities for Forestry
1
Tax Preparation Services
4
Taxi Service
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Television Broadcasting
1
Temporary Help Services
5
Testing Laboratories
3
Textile Bag Mills
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
9
Tire Dealers
6
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
5
Tobacco Stores
3
Travel Agencies
3
Truck Trailer Manufacturing
1
Truss Manufacturing
2
Used Car Dealers
13
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Used Merchandise Stores
8
Veterinary Services
12
Video Tape and Disc Rental
5
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
2
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3
Window Treatment Stores
3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
5
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
3

What About Franchising Opportunities?

As you drive around Kalispell, you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. So, it probably makes sense for you to consider franchising too.

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchise Marketing Support. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.

Sample franchise opportunities include Eccellente Gourmet Coffee and Midas International Corporation. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Retail Franchises and Frozen Yogurt Franchises.

Note on Kalispell Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Kalispell.

Is Buying an Existing Kalispell Business a Good Strategy?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Montana. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Kalispell.

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

Picking a Company Name

A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.

Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?

Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Kalispell, it's critical that you ensure that no other Montana company is using the business name you want to use.

The Art of Selling

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Kalispell business, you need to focus on sales.

Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Writing Great Proposals is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

What's Next?

As an entrepreneur in Kalispell, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

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

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

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