Rhode Island Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Contemplating starting a business in Pawtucket, Rhode Island? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Pawtucket.

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Running your own business is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure 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 Pawtucket. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being 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. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2424
5-9 Employees
804
10-19 Employees
609
20-49 Employees
411
50-99 Employees
150
100-249 Employees
108
250-499 Employees
24
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
6
All Pawtucket Businesses
4539

As a new Pawtucket entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Pawtucket 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
Ambulance Services
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
3
Art Dealers
2
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
2
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
7
Baked Goods Stores
3
Barber Shops
3
Beauty Salons
19
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
21
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
1
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
1
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
1
Cafeterias
1
Car Washes
3
Carpet and Rug Mills
1
Caterers
3
Charter Bus Industry
1
Child Day Care Services
14
Civic and Social Organizations
10
Claims Adjusting
1
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
5
Commercial Bakeries
2
Commercial Flexographic Printing
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
9
Commercial Screen Printing
6
Computer Systems Design Services
4
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
6
Convenience Stores
13
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Curtain and Drapery Mills
2
Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins
2
Custom Computer Programming Services
10
Dental Laboratories
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Digital Printing
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Doll and Stuffed Toy Manufacturing
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
32
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
10
Electrical Contractors
11
Elementary and Secondary Schools
9
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
5
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
3
Fabric Coating Mills
1
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
2
Finfish Fishing
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
6
Fish and Seafood Markets
1
Floor Covering Stores
2
Flooring Contractors
3
Florists
4
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
5
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
2
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
2
Full-Service Restaurants
37
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
11
Furniture Stores
6
General Automotive Repair
29
General Freight Trucking, Local
4
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
5
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Grantmaking Foundations
2
Graphic Design Services
5
Greeting Card Publishers
2
Hardware Stores
2
Heating Oil Dealers
6
Historical Sites
2
Home Health Care Services
5
Homes for the Elderly
4
Household Appliance Stores
2
Human Rights Organizations
1
Industrial Building Construction
2
Industrial Design Services
1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
3
Industrial Pattern Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
20
Interior Design Services
2
Investigation Services
1
Iron and Steel Forging
1
Janitorial Services
22
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing
9
Jewelry Stores
2
Junior Colleges
1
Landscaping Services
13
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Linen Supply
2
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
3
Locksmiths
3
Machine Shops
6
Mail-Order Houses
2
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
3
Meat Markets
3
Metal Stamping
4
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing
1
Motor Vehicle Towing
3
Museums
1
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Narrow Fabric Mills
6
New Car Dealers
9
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
2
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
3
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
5
Offices of Chiropractors
8
Offices of Dentists
25
Offices of Optometrists
4
Offices of Podiatrists
7
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packing and Crating
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
3
Passenger Car Rental
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
11
Photography Studios, Portrait
4
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
1
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing
1
Portfolio Management
1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
2
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Quick Printing
1
Radio Networks
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
1
Real Estate Investment Trusts
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Remodelers
29
Retail Bakeries
5
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
3
Rolled Steel Shape Manufacturing
1
Roofing Contractors
8
Rope, Cordage, and Twine Mills
1
Savings Institutions
3
Securities Brokerage
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
4
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
3
Siding Contractors
2
Sign Manufacturing
5
Site Preparation Contractors
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
15
Sound Recording Studios
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
4
Sports Teams and Clubs
1
Steel Foundries (except Investment)
1
Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing
1
Tax Preparation Services
5
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Telephone Answering Services
1
Temporary Help Services
6
Temporary Shelters
2
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Thread Mills
1
Tire Dealers
4
Tobacco Stores
1
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
1
Translation and Interpretation Services
2
Travel Agencies
7
Truck Trailer Manufacturing
1
Used Car Dealers
11
Used Merchandise Stores
2
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
1
Video Tape and Disc Rental
5
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
3
Voluntary Health Organizations
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
5
Women's Clothing Stores
3
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
2
Wood Office Furniture Manufacturing
1

Is Franchising a Better Option?

As you drive around Pawtucket, it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. But is franchising the right option for you?

Our advice is to investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchise Due Diligence. 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 Inner Circle and Huddle House, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Ice Cream Franchises and Pest Control Franchises.

Note on Pawtucket Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Pawtucket.

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.

Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.

On a final note, given that you are opening a business in Pawtucket, it's critical that you ensure that no other Rhode Island company is using the business name you want to use.

Bring in Revenues

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

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Hiring Good Sales People is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

Learning More About Entrepreneurship

The best business owners know that they need to continually improve.

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

What's Next?

As an entrepreneur in Pawtucket, 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 Pawtucket and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Pawtucket entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Pawtucket, Rhode Island

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

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