Maryland Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Annapolis, Maryland
Are you starting a business in Annapolis, Maryland? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Annapolis.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur is hard work, much more arduous than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Annapolis. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- Peruse Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Annapolis, Maryland Demographic Information
Annapolis has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Annapolis demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Annapolis.
Businesses
As a new Annapolis entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Annapolis 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.
Businesses
Naming the Company
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.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Annapolis, it's critical that you ensure that no other Maryland company is using the business name you want to use.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
Having a business plan is critical 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 makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
To learn more about business plans, read Reasons to Write a Business Plan. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in Maryland.
Startup Financing Basics
Getting your Annapolis business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. 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 504 Loans.
For Annapolis entrepreneurs who need startup capital, you'll want to take a look at our List of Maryland Angel Investors and our List of Maryland Venture Capital Firms.
Promoting Your New Startup
Whether your goal is to attract Annapolis customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, 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. Writing Contributed Articles 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.
What's Next?
As an entrepreneur in Annapolis, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Annapolis and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Annapolis, Maryland
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Annapolis.
- Resources for Annapolis, Maryland Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Annapolis entrepreneurs.
- Maryland Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Maryland.
- Maryland Small Business Development Center - The Maryland Small Business Development Center Network has six regional offices and more than 20 locations where Maryland entrepreneurs can receive comprehensive, resources and relevant assistance.
More Startup Articles for Maryland Cities
Starting a Business in Andrews Air Force Base
Starting a Business in Arnold
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Maryland
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs