New York Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Poughkeepsie, New York

Contemplating starting a business in Poughkeepsie, New York? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Poughkeepsie.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new businesses fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you start your 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 Poughkeepsie. 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.

Poughkeepsie, New York Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3781
5-9 Employees
1488
10-19 Employees
948
20-49 Employees
693
50-99 Employees
249
100-249 Employees
132
250-499 Employees
18
500-999 Employees
12
1000+ Employees
15
All Poughkeepsie Businesses
7336

As a new Poughkeepsie entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Poughkeepsie 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
Amusement Arcades
2
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
3
Architectural Services
10
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
3
Automotive Transmission Repair
3
Baked Goods Stores
3
Ball and Roller Bearing Manufacturing
2
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
37
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
2
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Book Publishers
2
Book Stores
6
Bowling Centers
1
Breweries
1
Business Associations
2
Cafeterias
3
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
3
Caterers
3
Cemeteries and Crematories
2
Child and Youth Services
4
Child Day Care Services
30
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
3
Civic and Social Organizations
9
Clothing Accessories Stores
3
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
10
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Bakeries
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
6
Community Food Services
2
Computer and Software Stores
6
Computer Systems Design Services
12
Confectionery and Nut Stores
2
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Consumer Lending
4
Convenience Stores
7
Couriers
3
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
2
Custom Computer Programming Services
8
Dental Laboratories
4
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
3
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
2
Digital Printing
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
3
Direct Mail Advertising
4
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Discount Department Stores
3
Display Advertising
1
Document Preparation Services
3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
13
Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
2
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
25
Electronic Computer Manufacturing
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
10
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Employment Placement Agencies
3
Engineering Services
13
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
12
Family Planning Centers
1
Fine Arts Schools
3
Finish Carpentry Contractors
16
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
8
Floor Covering Stores
7
Flooring Contractors
6
Florists
6
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
5
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing
1
Food Service Contractors
11
Fruit and Vegetable Canning
1
Full-Service Restaurants
96
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
6
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
10
General Automotive Repair
28
General Freight Trucking, Local
3
General Rental Centers
4
General Warehousing and Storage
3
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
18
Glass and Glazing Contractors
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
4
Grantmaking Foundations
3
Graphic Design Services
2
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
3
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
2
Heating Oil Dealers
5
Historical Sites
1
HMO Medical Centers
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
8
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
7
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
4
Household Appliance Stores
3
Human Rights Organizations
1
Industrial Building Construction
2
Industrial Launderers
3
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
44
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
1
Internet Service Providers
1
Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
1
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
8
Janitorial Services
10
Jewelry Stores
16
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
2
Landscape Architectural Services
2
Landscaping Services
24
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
4
Limited-Service Restaurants
56
Limousine Service
2
Linen Supply
1
Locksmiths
1
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Machine Shops
4
Mail-Order Houses
3
Marketing Consulting Services
2
Masonry Contractors
4
Meat Markets
2
Medical Laboratories
6
Men's Clothing Stores
4
Metal Stamping
2
Mobile Food Services
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
4
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Museums
1
Musical Groups and Artists
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Musical Instrument Manufacturing
1
New Car Dealers
9
New Housing Operative Builders
4
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
12
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
11
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
22
Offices of Chiropractors
12
Offices of Dentists
42
Offices of Lawyers
97
Offices of Optometrists
5
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Offices of Podiatrists
4
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
1
Optical Goods Stores
6
Outerwear Knitting Mills
1
Packing and Crating
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
9
Passenger Car Rental
5
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
2
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
4
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
14
Photography Studios, Portrait
4
Portfolio Management
4
Professional Organizations
3
Public Relations Agencies
1
Quick Printing
1
Radio Networks
1
Radio Stations
12
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Credit
6
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
13
Residential Remodelers
25
Retail Bakeries
2
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
1
Roofing Contractors
4
Rooming and Boarding Houses
2
Savings Institutions
9
School and Employee Bus Transportation
4
Securities Brokerage
9
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing
2
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sewage Treatment Facilities
1
Shoe Stores
16
Siding Contractors
1
Sign Manufacturing
2
Site Preparation Contractors
9
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
21
Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing
1
Software Publishers
1
Special Needs Transportation
2
Sporting Goods Stores
11
Sports and Recreation Instruction
7
Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply
1
Tax Preparation Services
9
Taxi Service
4
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Television Broadcasting
1
Temporary Help Services
8
Temporary Shelters
5
Testing Laboratories
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tire Dealers
7
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
8
Tour Operators
1
Translation and Interpretation Services
2
Travel Agencies
5
Used Car Dealers
13
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
5
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Vending Machine Operators
5
Video Tape and Disc Rental
6
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
10
Voluntary Health Organizations
3
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
4
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
9
Women's Clothing Stores
18

The Role of the Business Plan

A business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Free Business Plan Templates. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in New York.

Startup Financing Basics

Obtaining startup financing for your Poughkeepsie business is a difficult chore. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Choosing VC Firms.

For Poughkeepsie entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, you'll want to take a look at our List of New York Angel Investors and our List of New York Venture Capital Firms.

Promoting Your New Company

To rise above the crowd in Poughkeepsie and accelerate your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your beating the competition.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Yellow Pages Advertising Advice discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

Good entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.

With your business being located in Poughkeepsie, New York, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby New York universities, colleges and community colleges. Another way to keep up on your learning is to investigate networking organizations for Poughkeepsie entrepreneurs.

Next Steps

Most new Poughkeepsie businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

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

We are here to help Poughkeepsie businesses to be successful. 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 Poughkeepsie, New York

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

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