Vermont Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont

Contemplating starting a business in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Saint Johnsbury.

Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?

Being an entrepreneur is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you have the stamina and skills to succeed on your own?

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 Saint Johnsbury. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
  • We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. 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.

Which Business to Choose?

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 Finding Your Niche in Life.

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 Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Don't forget that your new business will be in Saint Johnsbury. Some businesses will do better in Saint Johnsbury than others. Make sure you fully understand Saint Johnsbury demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Saint Johnsbury, Vermont Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
549
5-9 Employees
354
10-19 Employees
198
20-49 Employees
108
50-99 Employees
36
100-249 Employees
24
250-499 Employees
6
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Saint Johnsbury Businesses
1275

As a new Saint Johnsbury entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Saint Johnsbury 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
Architectural Services
1
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
5
Baked Goods Stores
1
Beauty Salons
2
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
1
Business Associations
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Car Washes
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
2
Child Day Care Services
6
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Civic and Social Organizations
4
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
1
Community Food Services
1
Convenience Stores
5
Custom Computer Programming Services
1
Distilleries
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
2
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
2
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
4
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Family Clothing Stores
1
Family Planning Centers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
2
Florists
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Service Contractors
2
Framing Contractors
1
Full-Service Restaurants
13
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
8
General Freight Trucking, Local
1
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
2
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
1
Hardware Stores
2
Heating Oil Dealers
4
Home Health Care Services
1
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Household Appliance Stores
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
6
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
1
Jewelry Stores
3
Land Subdivision
1
Libraries and Archives
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
9
Linen Supply
1
Marinas
1
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
2
Meat Processed from Carcasses
2
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Metal Stamping
1
Museums
1
New Car Dealers
5
New Housing Operative Builders
3
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
4
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
7
Offices of Lawyers
14
Offices of Optometrists
2
Offices of Podiatrists
2
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
2
Paper (except Newsprint) Mills
1
Periodical Publishers
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
2
Real Estate Credit
3
Residential Remodelers
6
Roofing Contractors
5
Savings Institutions
2
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
3
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
1
Site Preparation Contractors
5
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
2
Solid Waste Collection
1
Sporting Goods Stores
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
2
Temporary Help Services
1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
1
Tire Retreading
1
Used Car Dealers
3
Vending Machine Operators
1
Veterinary Services
4
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3
Women's Clothing Stores
2

Naming the Company

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.

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

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Saint Johnsbury, it's critical that you ensure that no other Vermont company is using the business name you want to use.

Forming a Company in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont

It's essential that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.

The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.

Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in Vermont, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Vermont. As it turns out, you are allowed to incorporate in any state you would like to. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.

There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Piercing the Corporate Veil. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont, our information on Incorporating in Vermont may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Vermont.

Marketing Your New Venture

To grow your Saint Johnsbury business, you need a great marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Writing Contributed Articles is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Never Give Up

As an entrepreneur in Saint Johnsbury, 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.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Saint Johnsbury 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 Saint Johnsbury, Vermont

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

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