Massachusetts Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Thinking about starting a business in Bridgewater, Massachusetts? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Bridgewater.
Are You Ready for Entrepreneurship?
Being an entrepreneur is hard work, much more arduous than working as an employee. Are you positive you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?
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:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Bridgewater. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
Bridgewater, Massachusetts Demographic Information
Bridgewater has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Bridgewater demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Bridgewater.
Businesses
As a new Bridgewater entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Bridgewater 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.
To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Bridgewater, it's critical that you ensure that you will be the only Massachusetts company using the business name you have chosen.
Forming a Company in Bridgewater, Massachusetts
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in Massachusetts, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Massachusetts. As it turns out, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as ESOP Formation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, our information on Incorporating in Massachusetts may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Massachusetts.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your Bridgewater business is a difficult chore. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as 504 Loans.
For Bridgewater entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of Massachusetts Angel Investors and our List of Massachusetts Venture Capital Firms.
Getting the Word Out About Your New Startup
Whether your goal is to attract Bridgewater customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
We have some great resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Planning an Event is an article that will stimulate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Never Give Up
As an entrepreneur in Bridgewater, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Bridgewater businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Bridgewater 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 Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Bridgewater.
- Resources for Bridgewater, Massachusetts Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Bridgewater entrepreneurs.
- Massachusetts Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Massachusetts.
- Massachusetts Small Business Development Center - The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network provides one-to-one free comprehensive and confidential services focusing on, business growth and strategies, financing and loan assistance as well as strategic, marketing and operational analysis.
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