Maine Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Lewiston, Maine

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

What Business to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading 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 Food Service Industrial Business guide or our How to Start a Motorcycle & Motor Scooter Rental Business guide.

Don't forget that starting a business in Lewiston has some implications. If Lewiston already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. A critical consideration is whether Lewiston demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Lewiston, Maine Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
12496
5-9 Employees
5616
10-19 Employees
4080
20-49 Employees
2856
50-99 Employees
744
100-249 Employees
528
250-499 Employees
264
500-999 Employees
72
1000+ Employees
48
All Lewiston Businesses
26704

As a new Lewiston entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lewiston 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
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
1
Armored Car Services
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
12
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
2
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Blood and Organ Banks
2
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
3
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
3
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
2
Cane Sugar Refining
1
Canvas and Related Product Mills
2
Car Washes
3
Caterers
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
3
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
20
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
15
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Bakeries
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Community Food Services
2
Computer Systems Design Services
3
Computer Training
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
8
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Couriers
2
Credit Unions
9
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins
2
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Distilleries
1
Document Preparation Services
3
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Educational Support Services
3
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
4
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Engineering Services
3
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
5
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
12
Flooring Contractors
6
Florists
4
Food Service Contractors
2
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
6
Furniture Stores
2
General Automotive Repair
11
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
4
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hardware Stores
5
Heating Oil Dealers
4
Home Centers
1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
5
Homes for the Elderly
1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
21
Interior Design Services
1
Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
1
Investigation Services
2
Investment Advice
6
Iron Foundries
1
Jewelry Stores
4
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Landscaping Services
6
Limited-Service Restaurants
23
Limousine Service
1
Linen Supply
2
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Logging
2
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Machine Shops
7
Mail-Order Houses
2
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
2
Marketing Consulting Services
2
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Medical Laboratories
2
Metal Stamping
1
Mineral Wool Manufacturing
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motorcycle Dealers
3
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
3
Musical Instrument Manufacturing
1
Narrow Fabric Mills
2
New Car Dealers
1
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
5
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
8
Offices of Lawyers
26
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Offices of Podiatrists
3
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
5
Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing
1
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
1
Optical Goods Stores
3
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
9
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
8
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Political Organizations
1
Prepress Services
1
Professional Employer Organizations
2
Professional Organizations
1
Quick Printing
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
2
Repossession Services
1
Residential Property Managers
7
Residential Remodelers
5
Retail Bakeries
2
Roofing Contractors
7
Savings Institutions
6
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Shoe Stores
1
Siding Contractors
1
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
5
Sports and Recreation Instruction
3
Sports Teams and Clubs
1
Tax Preparation Services
3
Taxi Service
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
3
Television Broadcasting
1
Temporary Help Services
4
Textile Bag Mills
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Thread Mills
1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
3
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Tobacco Stores
2
Used Car Dealers
6
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
3
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
5
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Window Treatment Stores
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
6
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Lewiston Business?

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

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

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

Writing a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Maine.

Letting the World Know You Exist

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

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Avoiding Bad Product Launches is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Selling Tips

Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Lewiston or are selling to customers throughout Maine, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

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.

The Art of Customer Referrals offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Lewiston. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Lewiston and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Lewiston 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 Lewiston, Maine

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

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Maine

Starting a Business in Kingfield
Starting a Business in Lincoln

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Maine
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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