Montana Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Stevensville, Montana

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

Do You Have What It Takes?

Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

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:

  • Speak with other entrepreneurs in Stevensville. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
  • Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. 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.

Stevensville, Montana Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
1617
5-9 Employees
333
10-19 Employees
225
20-49 Employees
99
50-99 Employees
36
100-249 Employees
0
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Stevensville Businesses
2310

As a new Stevensville entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Stevensville 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
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
1
Beauty Salons
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
1
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Child Day Care Services
4
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
3
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Electronic Shopping
1
Engineering Services
1
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
5
Framing Contractors
5
Freight Transportation Arrangement
3
General Automotive Repair
4
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Manufacturing
1
Hardware Stores
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
2
Iron and Steel Mills
1
Janitorial Services
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
2
Limited-Service Restaurants
4
Logging
5
Machine Shops
1
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
5
Metal Stamping
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Museums
1
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
3
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Dentists
2
Offices of Lawyers
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Periodical Publishers
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
1
Phosphate Rock Mining
1
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
1
Roofing Contractors
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Small Arms Ammunition Manufacturing
1
Small Arms Manufacturing
1
Support Activities for Forestry
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Taxi Service
1
Travel Agencies
1
Truss Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Veterinary Services
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
2

Is Franchising a Better Option?

As you drive around Stevensville, you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Our advice is to investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Evaluating Franchise Opportunities. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

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

Sample franchise opportunities include Wings To Go and GoCar Franchise Services. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Construction Franchises and Handyman Services Franchises.

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

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

A business plan is essential in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Outsourcing. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Montana.

Startup Financing Basics

Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Stevensville business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Only Idiots Send Venture Capitalists Business Plans.

For Stevensville entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, you'll want to take a look at our List of Montana Angel Investors and our List of Montana Venture Capital Firms.

Ramping Up Sales

Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Stevensville or are selling to customers throughout Montana, 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. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Landing Big Customers offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

The best business owners recognize that they don't know everything.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Stevensville, Montana, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby Montana universities, colleges and community colleges. We also suggest you look into networking organizations for Stevensville entrepreneurs.

Now It's Up To You

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

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

We are here to help Stevensville businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Stevensville, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Stevensville, Montana

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

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