New York Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in Long Island City, New York

Are you starting a business in Long Island City, New York? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Long Island City.

Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?

An entrepreneurial life is hard work, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Long Island City. Get their take on what it's really like to be 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. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.

Long Island City, New York Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3918
5-9 Employees
1311
10-19 Employees
1122
20-49 Employees
930
50-99 Employees
462
100-249 Employees
249
250-499 Employees
42
500-999 Employees
27
1000+ Employees
18
All Long Island City Businesses
8079

As a new Long Island City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Long Island City 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
2
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
2
Apprenticeship Training
1
Architectural Services
9
Art Dealers
2
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
3
Automotive Transmission Repair
6
Baked Goods Stores
2
Barber Shops
3
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
6
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
6
Blind and Shade Manufacturing
4
Book Publishers
2
Book Stores
2
Books Printing
1
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
1
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
3
Car Washes
6
Caterers
4
Charter Bus Industry
2
Child and Youth Services
5
Civic and Social Organizations
6
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
12
Commercial Bakeries
9
Commercial Flexographic Printing
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
28
Commercial Photography
3
Commercial Screen Printing
4
Commodity Contracts Dealing
6
Computer and Software Stores
1
Computer Systems Design Services
10
Computer Training
1
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
2
Consumer Lending
3
Convenience Stores
9
Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing
1
Couriers
8
Credit Unions
7
Curtain and Drapery Mills
4
Custom Computer Programming Services
12
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Dental Laboratories
5
Digital Printing
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
2
Direct Mail Advertising
4
Display Advertising
4
Document Preparation Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
13
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
17
Electric Power Distribution
3
Electrical Contractors
77
Electronic Shopping
8
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Employment Placement Agencies
4
Engineering Services
12
Envelope Manufacturing
3
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Fabric Coating Mills
1
Family Clothing Stores
4
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
19
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
7
Floor Covering Stores
1
Flooring Contractors
7
Florists
2
Food Service Contractors
6
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
2
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
3
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
7
Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
49
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
6
Furniture Stores
10
General Automotive Repair
78
General Warehousing and Storage
6
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
2
Glass and Glazing Contractors
3
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
8
Gypsum Product Manufacturing
2
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
2
Hat, Cap, and Millinery Manufacturing
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
2
Home Centers
2
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
12
Home Health Care Services
3
Household Appliance Stores
1
Industrial Design Services
2
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
1
Industrial Valve Manufacturing
1
Institutional Furniture Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
9
Interior Design Services
5
International Trade Financing
3
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
1
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
12
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing
22
Jewelry Stores
1
Junior Colleges
1
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
3
Lead Pencil and Art Good Manufacturing
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
51
Limousine Service
38
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
7
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Machine Shops
8
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Marketing Consulting Services
4
Marking Device Manufacturing
1
Masonry Contractors
18
Meat Processed from Carcasses
1
Media Buying Agencies
1
Medical Laboratories
2
Metal Household Furniture Manufacturing
4
Metal Stamping
2
Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing
2
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
4
Mobile Food Services
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
3
Motion Picture and Video Production
5
Motorcycle Dealers
3
Museums
3
Musical Groups and Artists
4
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
Natural Gas Distribution
1
New Car Dealers
13
News Dealers and Newsstands
4
Newspaper Publishers
6
Nonresidential Property Managers
12
Office Administrative Services
8
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
3
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
3
Offices of Bank Holding Companies
2
Offices of Chiropractors
1
Offices of Dentists
4
Offices of Lawyers
11
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing
1
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
2
Outerwear Knitting Mills
2
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Packaging Machinery Manufacturing
1
Packing and Crating
6
Paging
1
Paint and Coating Manufacturing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
2
Parking Lots and Garages
19
Passenger Car Leasing
2
Passenger Car Rental
2
Payroll Services
2
Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
4
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Plastics Bag Manufacturing
2
Portfolio Management
1
Prepress Services
3
Printing Ink Manufacturing
1
Public Relations Agencies
2
Real Estate Credit
4
Real Estate Investment Trusts
2
Record Production
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
2
Remediation Services
5
Residential Property Managers
5
Residential Remodelers
20
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
15
Roofing Contractors
13
Sales Financing
7
Savings Institutions
3
Securities Brokerage
3
Security Guards and Patrol Services
6
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sign Manufacturing
13
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
14
Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing
1
Software Publishers
1
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sound Recording Studios
2
Spice and Extract Manufacturing
1
Surface-Coated Paperboard Manufacturing
1
Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing
1
Tax Preparation Services
1
Taxi Service
29
Telecommunications Resellers
2
Telemarketing Bureaus
3
Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing
1
Television Broadcasting
1
Temporary Help Services
3
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
4
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
2
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
6
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
2
Tour Operators
1
Tradebinding and Related Work
3
Translation and Interpretation Services
3
Travel Agencies
3
Used Car Dealers
8
Vending Machine Operators
3
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Watch, Clock, and Part Manufacturing
2
Weft Knit Fabric Mills
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
24
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
6
Women's Handbag and Purse Manufacturing
1
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2
Wood Preservation
1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1
Yarn Spinning Mills
1

Do You Need a Business Plan?

Having a business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write 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 Presentations. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in New York.

Getting the Word Out About Your New Business

To rise above the crowd in Long Island City and build your business, you need a great marketing plan.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Advertising on Google is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

How to Sell

Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Long Island City business, you need to focus on sales.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Hiring Telemarketing Firms to Generate Sales Leads is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills

Good entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Long Island City, New York, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby New York universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Long Island City entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Moving Forward

As an entrepreneur in Long Island City, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

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 Long Island City and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 Long Island City, New York

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

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