Massachusetts Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts

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

Is Becoming a Business Owner Right for You?

Most new businesses don't make it, in part because the business owner did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Vineyard Haven. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
  • We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
716
5-9 Employees
204
10-19 Employees
84
20-49 Employees
30
50-99 Employees
9
100-249 Employees
0
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Vineyard Haven Businesses
1043

As a new Vineyard Haven entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Vineyard Haven 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
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
1
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
5
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
3
Boat Building
1
Boat Dealers
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Caterers
3
Child Day Care Services
3
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Computer and Software Stores
3
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Convenience Stores
2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Electrical Contractors
6
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Engineering Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
3
Family Planning Centers
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Fish and Seafood Markets
2
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
3
Flooring Contractors
1
Florists
1
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Framing Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
10
General Automotive Repair
4
General Freight Trucking, Local
3
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Stores
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
2
Home Centers
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Inland Water Freight Transportation
1
Inland Water Passenger Transportation
1
Interior Design Services
2
Jewelry Stores
3
Landscaping Services
12
Limited-Service Restaurants
6
Marinas
4
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
2
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Musical Instrument Manufacturing
2
New Housing Operative Builders
4
Newspaper Publishers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
1
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
5
Offices of Lawyers
2
Offices of Optometrists
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Passenger Car Rental
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Portfolio Management
1
Quick Printing
1
Recreational Goods Rental
4
Residential Property Managers
2
Residential Remodelers
5
Retail Bakeries
1
Savings Institutions
4
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
2
Sewage Treatment Facilities
1
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
5
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Sports and Recreation Instruction
2
Tax Preparation Services
1
Taxi Service
2
Tire Dealers
1
Tradebinding and Related Work
1
Travel Agencies
2
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Web Search Portals
1
Women's Clothing Stores
5

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Vineyard Haven Business?

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

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

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 should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.

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

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are planning on starting a business in Vineyard Haven, it's imperative that you check now that no other Massachusetts company is using the business name you want to use.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Writing a business plan is essential in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan will greatly reduce your chances of business success.

To learn more about business plans, read Reasons to Write a Business Plan. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Massachusetts.

Bring in Revenues

Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Vineyard Haven business to do well.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Anticipating Prospect Responses is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Moving Forward

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

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

We are here to help Vineyard Haven 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 Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Massachusetts

Starting a Business in Upton
Starting a Business in Wakefield

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

 

 

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