Maine Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Kennebunk, Maine
Need help starting a business in Kennebunk, Maine? We've got the information you need to open a business in Kennebunk.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before quitting your day job, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Kennebunk. 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.
Kennebunk, Maine Demographic Information
Kennebunk has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Kennebunk demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Kennebunk.
Businesses
As a new Kennebunk entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Kennebunk 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
Have You Considered Franchising?
Visit the business district of Kennebunk and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Franchising Scams. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Sample franchise opportunities include BuildingStars, Inc. and Fox's Pizza Den. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Golf Franchises and Real Estate Franchises.
Note on Kennebunk Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Kennebunk.
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.
Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.
On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Kennebunk, 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 Kennebunk, Maine
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. 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. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. 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 Pre-Incorporation Agreements. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Kennebunk, Maine, our information on Incorporating in Maine may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Maine.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
Having a business plan is vital 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. 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 Contests. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Maine.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Getting your Kennebunk business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. 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 How Much Venture Capital Is There?.
For Kennebunk entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of Maine Angel Investors and our List of Maine Venture Capital Firms.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Kennebunk. 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 Kennebunk businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Kennebunk, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Kennebunk, Maine
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Kennebunk.
- Resources for Kennebunk, Maine Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Kennebunk 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.
More Startup Articles for Maine Cities
Starting a Business in Houlton
Starting a Business in Kingfield
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Maine
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs