New Hampshire Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Laconia, New Hampshire
Thinking about starting a business in Laconia, New Hampshire? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Laconia.
Are You Ready for the Challenges of Being an Entrepreneur?
Before you get too far along in the process, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Laconia. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. 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.
What Business to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, 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 Opening a Heat Treating Business guide or our Starting a Hosiery & Socks Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.
Remember that starting a business in Laconia has some implications. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in Laconia. Make sure you fully understand Laconia demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Laconia, New Hampshire Demographic Information
Laconia has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Laconia demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Laconia.
Businesses
As a new Laconia entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Laconia 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
What About Franchising Opportunities?
Browse the Yellow Pages for Laconia and you'll notice that many local entrepreneurs have gone the franchising route. But is franchising the right option for you?
Our recommendation is that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchising and Veterans. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include El Pollo Loco, Inc. and ExxonMobil Corporation. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Wine Franchises and Framing Store Franchises.
Note on Laconia Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Laconia.
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.
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.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
On a final note, given that you are starting a business in Laconia, it's very important that you make sure your company name has not already been claimed by another New Hampshire business.
Raising Capital for Your Venture
Raising money to fund your new Laconia business is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Borrowing Money from Friends and Family.
For Laconia entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of New Hampshire Angel Investors and our List of New Hampshire Venture Capital Firms.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
Good business owners recognize that they need to continually improve.
With your business being located in Laconia, New Hampshire, you should investigate some of the many programs available at nearby New Hampshire universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any Laconia networking organizations.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Laconia. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Laconia 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 Laconia, New Hampshire
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Laconia.
- Resources for Laconia, New Hampshire Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Laconia entrepreneurs.
- New Hampshire Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in New Hampshire.
- New Hampshire Small Business Development Center - The New Hampshire Small Business Development Center offers free, one-on-one, confidential business counseling, low cost training programs, and other great services for New Hampshire entrepreneurs.
More Business Startup Guides for New Hampshire
Starting a Business in Kingston
Starting a Business in Lancaster
Browse All Business Startup Guides for New Hampshire
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs