Massachusetts Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Medford, Massachusetts
Are you starting a business in Medford, Massachusetts? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Medford.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before quitting your day job, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
With so much at stake when you start a business, we strongly recommend you do the following before you proceed:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Medford. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- 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. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
Which Business to Choose?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at 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 Plumbing & Heating Supplies Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide or our How to Start a Stereo Equipment Custom Installation Business guide.
Don't forget that your new startup will be located in Medford. Some businesses will do better in Medford than others. Study Medford demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Medford, Massachusetts Demographic Information
Medford has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Medford demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Medford.
Businesses
As a new Medford entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Medford 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
Choosing a Company Name
Making the right decision when choosing a company name is very important. There are many decisions you'll make now that you can change later, but changing a company name years down the road is not very easy. So, choose a good company name at the outset.
Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Medford, it's very important that you make sure no Massachusetts company has already registered the company name you have selected.
Startup Financing Basics
Obtaining startup financing for your Medford business will be harder than you might expect. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.
For Medford entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of Massachusetts Angel Investors and our List of Massachusetts Venture Capital Firms.
Letting the World Know You Exist
To grow your Medford business, you need a solid marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Making the Most of Trade Shows is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Medford. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Medford businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Medford, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Medford, Massachusetts
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Medford.
- Resources for Medford, Massachusetts Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Medford entrepreneurs.
- Massachusetts Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Massachusetts.
- Massachusetts Small Business Development Center - The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network provides one-to-one free comprehensive and confidential services focusing on, business growth and strategies, financing and loan assistance as well as strategic, marketing and operational analysis.
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