Florida Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Miami Beach, Florida

Thinking about starting a business in Miami Beach, Florida? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Miami Beach.

What Type of Business Should You Start?

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Failure Analysis Testing Laboratory guide or our Starting a Trail Rides Business guide.

Always keep in mind that starting a business in Miami Beach has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Miami Beach than others. Make sure you fully understand Miami Beach demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Miami Beach, Florida Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
9343
5-9 Employees
2058
10-19 Employees
1137
20-49 Employees
696
50-99 Employees
225
100-249 Employees
207
250-499 Employees
39
500-999 Employees
12
1000+ Employees
6
All Miami Beach Businesses
13723

As a new Miami Beach entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Miami Beach 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
19
Ambulance Services
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Apprenticeship Training
1
Art Dealers
13
Automobile Driving Schools
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
5
Baked Goods Stores
3
Barber Shops
2
Beauty Salons
73
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Blood and Organ Banks
2
Boat Dealers
4
Book Publishers
2
Book Stores
3
Bowling Centers
1
Building Inspection Services
3
Business Associations
10
Cafeterias
19
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
2
Car Washes
1
Caterers
10
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child Day Care Services
12
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
5
Claims Adjusting
5
Clothing Accessories Stores
18
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
8
Collection Agencies
2
Commercial Bakeries
2
Commercial Photography
8
Commercial Screen Printing
1
Commodity Contracts Dealing
4
Community Food Services
1
Computer and Software Stores
9
Computer Facilities Management Services
3
Computer Systems Design Services
25
Confectionery and Nut Stores
2
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
1
Convenience Stores
18
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
8
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing
1
Couriers
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Unions
1
Dance Companies
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
4
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
2
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
2
Document Preparation Services
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
36
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
2
Electrical Contractors
5
Electronic Shopping
7
Elementary and Secondary Schools
12
Emergency and Other Relief Services
2
Employment Placement Agencies
8
Engineering Services
12
Environmental Consulting Services
2
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
4
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
55
Fine Arts Schools
6
Finish Carpentry Contractors
6
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
2
Florists
6
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
13
Food Service Contractors
8
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
8
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
2
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
3
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
5
Furniture Stores
12
General Automotive Repair
12
General Freight Trucking, Local
5
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
3
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
22
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
4
Grantmaking Foundations
5
Graphic Design Services
23
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Hardware Stores
5
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
2
Home Health Care Services
8
Homes for the Elderly
4
Household Appliance Stores
1
Human Rights Organizations
1
Industrial Design Services
2
Industrial Launderers
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
28
Interior Design Services
29
International Trade Financing
1
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
3
Internet Service Providers
13
Investment Advice
28
Janitorial Services
14
Jewelry Stores
35
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
16
Landscape Architectural Services
3
Landscaping Services
8
Language Schools
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
9
Limited-Service Restaurants
114
Limousine Service
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Locksmiths
1
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
6
Mail-Order Houses
4
Marinas
4
Masonry Contractors
1
Meat Markets
5
Media Buying Agencies
3
Media Representatives
1
Medical Laboratories
2
Men's Clothing Stores
14
Mineral Wool Manufacturing
2
Mobile Food Services
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
19
Motion Picture and Video Distribution
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
34
Motor Vehicle Towing
2
Museums
6
Music Publishers
4
Nail Salons
2
Navigational Services to Shipping
3
New Car Dealers
2
New Housing Operative Builders
4
Newspaper Publishers
5
Nonresidential Property Managers
24
Nursing Care Facilities
9
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
4
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
35
Offices of Chiropractors
11
Offices of Dentists
68
Offices of Lawyers
155
Offices of Optometrists
10
Offices of Podiatrists
9
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
6
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
3
Optical Goods Stores
19
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
2
Packaging and Labeling Services
1
Packing and Crating
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
7
Parking Lots and Garages
35
Passenger Car Leasing
1
Passenger Car Rental
10
Payroll Services
5
Periodical Publishers
8
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
4
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
26
Photography Studios, Portrait
10
Political Organizations
1
Portfolio Management
12
Private Mail Centers
4
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Public Relations Agencies
15
Quick Printing
2
Radio Stations
2
Real Estate Credit
31
Real Estate Investment Trusts
1
Record Production
4
Recreational Goods Rental
5
Residential Property Managers
53
Residential Remodelers
14
Retail Bakeries
7
Sales Financing
1
Savings Institutions
11
Scheduled Freight Air Transportation
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
15
Security Guards and Patrol Services
2
Shoe Stores
35
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
28
Software Publishers
2
Sound Recording Studios
5
Sporting Goods Stores
15
Tax Preparation Services
7
Taxi Service
3
Telecommunications Resellers
6
Telemarketing Bureaus
2
Television Broadcasting
4
Temporary Help Services
3
Testing Laboratories
3
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
6
Tire Dealers
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
5
Tobacco Stores
8
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
3
Tour Operators
11
Translation and Interpretation Services
6
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
3
Used Merchandise Stores
7
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
6
Video Tape and Disc Rental
6
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
3
Watch, Clock, and Part Manufacturing
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Web Search Portals
3
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
32
Window Treatment Stores
2
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
7
Women's Clothing Stores
67

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Florida.

Raising Capital for Your Venture

Getting your Miami Beach business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. 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 Choosing VC Firms.

For Miami Beach entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, we have assembled a List of Florida Angel Investors and our List of Florida Venture Capital Firms.

Getting the Word Out About Your New Venture

Whether your goal is to attract Miami Beach customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a excellent marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Avoiding Bad Product Launches discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

The Art of Selling

Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Miami Beach business to do well.

Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.

Closing Sales Techniques offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Next Steps

Most new Miami Beach businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Miami Beach 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 Miami Beach, Florida

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

  • Resources for Miami Beach, Florida Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Miami Beach entrepreneurs.
  • Florida Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Florida.
  • Florida Small Business Development Center - The Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDCN) is a statewide economic development partnership between higher education and other stakeholder organizations dedicated to providing entrepreneurs and established businesses with the assistance needed to start, grow and succeed, contributing to the Florida economy.

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Florida

Starting a Business in Miami
Starting a Business in Miami Lakes

Browse All Business Startup Guides for Florida
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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