Maine Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Bethel, Maine
Need help starting a business in Bethel, Maine? We've got the information you need to open a business in Bethel.
Which Business to Choose?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at Finding Your Niche in Life.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.
Remember that your new business will be in Bethel. If Bethel already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Make sure you fully understand Bethel demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Bethel, Maine Demographic Information
Bethel has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Bethel demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Bethel.
Businesses
As a new Bethel entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bethel 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
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Bethel, it's very important that you make sure no other Maine company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Bethel, Maine
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Maine, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in Maine. As it turns out, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.
There are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Where to Incorporate. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Bethel, Maine, our information on Incorporating in Maine may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Maine.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Maine.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Getting your Bethel business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Investor Turnoffs.
For Bethel entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, we have assembled a List of Maine Angel Investors and our List of Maine Venture Capital Firms.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Bethel. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Bethel businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Bethel entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Bethel, Maine
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Bethel.
- Resources for Bethel, Maine Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bethel entrepreneurs.
- Maine Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Maine.
- Maine Small Business Development Center - Maine Small Business Development Centers and its technology-focused group, the Maine Small Business & Technology Development Centers, provide comprehensive business management assistance, training, resource and information services to Maine's entrepreneurs and small business owners.
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