Montana Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Fairfield, Montana

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

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Most new businesses do not succeed, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

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 Fairfield. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
  • We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Have a candid conversation with friends and family. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

Which Business to Choose?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Evaluating Your Idea.

To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting an Auto Trailer Dealers Business guide or our Starting a Pipeline Contractors Business guide.

Remember that Fairfield is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in Fairfield than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Fairfield demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Fairfield, Montana Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2064
5-9 Employees
432
10-19 Employees
288
20-49 Employees
192
50-99 Employees
0
100-249 Employees
48
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Fairfield Businesses
3024

As a new Fairfield entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Fairfield 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
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Caterers
1
Child Day Care Services
2
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Credit Unions
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
3
Electrical Contractors
1
Engineering Services
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Flooring Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
2
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Hardware Stores
1
Janitorial Services
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
1
New Car Dealers
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Dentists
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Tax Preparation Services
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1

What About Buying an Existing Fairfield Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in Montana. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in Fairfield.

If you are going to be buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

The Role of the Business Plan

A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Montana.

Raising Money for Your Startup

Getting your Fairfield business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.

For Fairfield entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Montana Angel Investors and our List of Montana Venture Capital Firms.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

The best entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Fairfield, Montana, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Montana educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Fairfield entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

What's Next?

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

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

We are here to help Fairfield 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 Fairfield, Montana

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

More Startup Articles for Montana Cities

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Starting a Business in Forsyth

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