New York Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Glens Falls, New York

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

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Before you get too far along in the process, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Glens Falls. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Free 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 Monuments & Markers Lettering Business guide or our Opening a Monuments & Markers Manufacturing Equipment Business guide.

Don't forget that Glens Falls is the place where you are starting a business. If Glens Falls already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Study Glens Falls demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.

Glens Falls, New York Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
854
5-9 Employees
414
10-19 Employees
255
20-49 Employees
186
50-99 Employees
78
100-249 Employees
45
250-499 Employees
9
500-999 Employees
12
1000+ Employees
3
All Glens Falls Businesses
1856

As a new Glens Falls entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Glens Falls 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
Advertising Agencies
1
Amusement Arcades
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
3
Architectural Services
3
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
2
Beauty Salons
7
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
2
Boat Dealers
1
Bowling Centers
1
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
1
Building Inspection Services
3
Business Associations
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Child and Youth Services
1
Child Day Care Services
8
Civic and Social Organizations
1
Claims Adjusting
2
Clothing Accessories Stores
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
4
Commercial Bakeries
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Consumer Lending
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Credit Unions
2
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
10
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Electric Power Distribution
4
Electrical Contractors
4
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
9
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
1
Family Planning Centers
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
2
Framing Contractors
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Full-Service Restaurants
16
Furniture Stores
3
General Automotive Repair
1
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
2
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
12
Interior Design Services
1
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
5
Janitorial Services
1
Jewelry Stores
2
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Libraries and Archives
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
13
Logging
1
Machine Shops
2
Marinas
2
Marketing Consulting Services
2
Masonry Contractors
3
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Museums
3
Musical Groups and Artists
1
New Car Dealers
2
News Syndicates
1
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
3
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
2
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
1
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
19
Offices of Lawyers
33
Offices of Optometrists
3
Offices of Other Holding Companies
3
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Optical Goods Stores
2
Paper (except Newsprint) Mills
1
Payroll Services
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Portfolio Management
1
Prepress Services
1
Professional Organizations
1
Public Relations Agencies
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
3
Real Estate Credit
1
Residential Property Managers
1
Residential Remodelers
4
Rooming and Boarding Houses
1
Savings Institutions
2
Securities Brokerage
3
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Small Arms Ammunition Manufacturing
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Landfill
1
Steel Wire Drawing
1
Taxi Service
2
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Help Services
5
Temporary Shelters
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
2
Tire Dealers
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
5
Women's Clothing Stores
1

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Glens Falls Business?

We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in New York. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Glens Falls.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Having a business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Software. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in New York.

Letting the World Know You Exist

To grow your Glens Falls business, you need a solid marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Direct Mail Costs is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

The Art of Selling

Being able to sell is fundamental to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Glens Falls or are selling to customers throughout New York, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Closing Sales is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Next Steps

You have a dream -- starting a business in Glens Falls. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Glens Falls and throughout the United States . 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 Glens Falls, New York

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in New York

Starting a Business in Glen Cove
Starting a Business in Gloversville

Browse All Business Startup Guides for New York
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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