Florida Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Sanibel, Florida

Need help starting a business in Sanibel, Florida? We've got the information you need to open a business in Sanibel.

What Business Are You Starting?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.

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 Check Protection Equipment & Supplies Business guide or our Opening a Parachutes Business guide.

Don't forget that your new business will be in Sanibel. If Sanibel already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Make sure you fully understand Sanibel demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Sanibel, Florida Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
677
5-9 Employees
237
10-19 Employees
117
20-49 Employees
72
50-99 Employees
21
100-249 Employees
3
250-499 Employees
0
500-999 Employees
0
1000+ Employees
0
All Sanibel Businesses
1127

As a new Sanibel entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Sanibel 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
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
1
Art Dealers
8
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
5
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
1
Boat Dealers
1
Book Stores
1
Business Associations
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Child Day Care Services
1
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
3
Commercial Photography
1
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Convenience Stores
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
4
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
1
Electric Power Distribution
1
Electrical Contractors
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
10
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
1
Florists
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
2
Full-Service Restaurants
17
General Automotive Repair
1
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
4
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
2
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
2
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
2
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
5
Jewelry Stores
9
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
8
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
2
Libraries and Archives
1
Locksmiths
1
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Men's Clothing Stores
2
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
2
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Museums
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
3
Offices of Chiropractors
2
Offices of Dentists
1
Offices of Lawyers
5
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Quick Printing
1
Real Estate Credit
1
Recreational Goods Rental
2
Residential Remodelers
3
Securities Brokerage
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
2
Shoe Stores
3
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
1
Sporting Goods Stores
2
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Used Merchandise Stores
4
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1

What About Buying an Existing Sanibel Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in Florida. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Sanibel.

Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

A business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, 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. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in Florida.

Promoting Your New Company

To rise above the crowd in Sanibel and accelerate your business, you need a solid marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Effective Direct Mail Campaigns is a good read to get your marketing thoughts flowing. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Selling Tips

Being able to sell is fundamental to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Sanibel or are selling to customers throughout Florida, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.

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.

Compensating Sales People is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

Good entrepreneurs know that they need to continually improve.

As an entrepreneur who lives in Sanibel, Florida, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local Florida educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Sanibel entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.

Never Give Up

You have a dream -- starting a business in Sanibel. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Sanibel and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Sanibel, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Sanibel, Florida

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

  • Resources for Sanibel, Florida Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Sanibel 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.

More Business Startup Guides for Florida

Starting a Business in Sanford
Starting a Business in Santa Rosa Beach

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