Vermont Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in South Burlington, Vermont

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

South Burlington, Vermont Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1328
5-9 Employees
618
10-19 Employees
483
20-49 Employees
327
50-99 Employees
105
100-249 Employees
66
250-499 Employees
15
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
3
All South Burlington Businesses
2945

As a new South Burlington entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in South Burlington 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
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Apprenticeship Training
1
Architectural Services
4
Armored Car Services
1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
2
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
7
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
4
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
10
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Boat Dealers
2
Book Publishers
2
Breweries
1
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
6
Cable and Other Program Distribution
3
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
2
Car Washes
6
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
6
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
5
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Claims Adjusting
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
4
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Bakeries
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
3
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Facilities Management Services
2
Computer Systems Design Services
5
Computer Training
1
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Convenience Stores
2
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Couriers
1
Credit Bureaus
1
Credit Unions
5
Custom Computer Programming Services
10
Dental Laboratories
5
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
2
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Discount Department Stores
2
Drafting Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Educational Support Services
1
Electrical Contractors
14
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
4
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
11
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
5
Finish Carpentry Contractors
4
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
12
Flight Training
1
Floor Covering Stores
3
Florists
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
4
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Framing Contractors
3
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
30
General Automotive Repair
13
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
5
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
3
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
1
Heating Oil Dealers
3
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
3
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Industrial Building Construction
1
Internet Service Providers
1
Investment Advice
2
Janitorial Services
4
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing
1
Jewelry Stores
6
Landscaping Services
7
Limited-Service Restaurants
21
Machine Shops
2
Mail-Order Houses
6
Manufactured (Mobile) Home Dealers
1
Marinas
1
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Masonry Contractors
1
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Mobile Food Services
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
3
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Nail Salons
2
Natural Gas Distribution
1
News Dealers and Newsstands
1
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
6
Office Administrative Services
4
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
4
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
8
Offices of Dentists
26
Offices of Lawyers
9
Offices of Optometrists
5
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
7
Optical Goods Stores
3
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
3
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
1
Parking Lots and Garages
1
Passenger Car Rental
6
Periodical Publishers
4
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing
1
Portfolio Management
5
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Professional Organizations
2
Quick Printing
2
Real Estate Credit
7
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
4
Residential Remodelers
9
Roofing Contractors
1
Satellite Telecommunications
1
Savings Institutions
2
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
5
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
2
Shoe Stores
4
Sign Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
6
Sports and Recreation Instruction
3
Tax Preparation Services
4
Taxi Service
1
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Television Broadcasting
2
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Dealers
2
Tortilla Manufacturing
1
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
2
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Web Search Portals
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2
Window Treatment Stores
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
11
Women's Clothing Stores
9

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

Browse the Yellow Pages for South Burlington and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Franchise Marketing Support. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Sample franchise opportunities include Teriyaki Stix and Ho Math and Chess Learning Centre. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Restaurant Services Franchises and Telecommunications Franchises.

Note on South Burlington Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in South Burlington, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Picking a Business Name

Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.

Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

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

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in South Burlington, it's critical that you ensure that no other Vermont company is using the business name you want to use.

The Role of the Business Plan

Writing a business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Vermont.

Marketing Your New Company

To rise above the crowd in South Burlington and advance your business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Viral Marketing is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

The Art of Selling

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

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Hiring Telemarketing Firms to Generate Sales Leads 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 South Burlington, 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.

We are here to help South Burlington 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 South Burlington, Vermont

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

More Business Startup Guides for Vermont

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Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

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