Rhode Island Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Cumberland, Rhode Island

Contemplating starting a business in Cumberland, Rhode Island? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Cumberland.

What Business to Start

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Good Business Ideas.

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.

Always keep in mind that you are opening your new business in Cumberland. Some businesses will do better in Cumberland than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Cumberland demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Cumberland, Rhode Island Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
10192
5-9 Employees
2625
10-19 Employees
1659
20-49 Employees
1071
50-99 Employees
504
100-249 Employees
231
250-499 Employees
63
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Cumberland Businesses
16345

As a new Cumberland entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Cumberland 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
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Baked Goods Stores
1
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
20
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
7
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
1
Car Washes
1
Carpet and Rug Mills
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child Day Care Services
11
Civic and Social Organizations
4
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
3
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Computer Facilities Management Services
1
Computer Systems Design Services
6
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Credit Unions
2
Custom Computer Programming Services
11
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
2
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Document Preparation Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
10
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
8
Electrical Contractors
11
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
4
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Fabric Coating Mills
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Fine Arts Schools
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
9
Fish and Seafood Markets
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
6
Flooring Contractors
2
Florists
5
Food Service Contractors
3
Framing Contractors
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
22
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
4
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
2
Heating Oil Dealers
3
Home Health Care Services
1
Homes for the Elderly
1
Household Appliance Stores
2
Industrial Design Services
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
8
Investigation Services
1
Iron Foundries
1
Janitorial Services
7
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing
2
Jewelry Stores
2
Land Subdivision
1
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
21
Machine Shops
3
Marketing Consulting Services
6
Masonry Contractors
4
Meat Markets
1
Metal Stamping
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Narrow Fabric Mills
1
Natural Gas Distribution
2
New Car Dealers
1
New Housing Operative Builders
5
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nonwoven Fabric Mills
1
Office Administrative Services
1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
2
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
5
Offices of Chiropractors
5
Offices of Dentists
11
Offices of Lawyers
4
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
4
Packing and Crating
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
4
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
5
Photography Studios, Portrait
2
Private Mail Centers
1
Real Estate Credit
4
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
2
Residential Remodelers
17
Retail Bakeries
2
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
2
Savings Institutions
3
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
2
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Siding Contractors
3
Site Preparation Contractors
13
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
7
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Sports and Recreation Instruction
2
Tax Preparation Services
1
Temporary Help Services
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
2
Tobacco Stores
1
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
7
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
12

What About Franchising Opportunities?

Visit the business district of Cumberland and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?

Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Understanding Franchise Contracts. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.

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

Sample franchise opportunities include Subway Franchises and Starbucks Franchises. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Accounting Franchises and Moving Franchises.

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

Naming the Business

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.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Naming a Business.

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Cumberland, it's very important that you make sure no other Rhode Island company is using the business name you want to use.

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Having a business plan is vital to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Rhode Island.

Bring in Revenues

Being able to sell is a key enabler to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Cumberland or are selling to customers throughout Rhode Island, 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. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.

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

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Cumberland. 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.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Cumberland and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Cumberland 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 Cumberland, Rhode Island

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

More Business Startup Guides for Rhode Island

Starting a Business in Coventry
Starting a Business in East Greenwich

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