Princeton, From what I remember, Hyde Park is a section of the City of Boston (a Great City for those who've never been!). Anyway, being one of the Northeast's grand cities it does have it's own minefield of rules and regulations to navigate through (there is actually a regulation regarding the use of 'Silly String'!). Fortunately, they have an excellent website and Economic Developemnt group that can help stear you through the various permits and approvals that you'll need to build and operate a C-Store (e.g., Food permits, ABC License, business License, etc). Ref: http://www.cityofboston.gov/ I'm not entirely sure if they restrict hours of operation in the Hyde Park section, but it is something you should definately look into if your plans include operating 24 hours a day. As for your start up costs; take your time 'building' your business plan as well as your operating and construction budgets (which, if you're going to look for financing would be a good thing to attach anyway). There's a lot of moving parts to every business and a c-store is certainly no exception. All three of these will help you in identifying many of the costs and expectations that you'll need to meet. Finally, I would suggest that you seek the counsil of an experienced attorney. Aside from being able to help you draft contracts and secure permits, they may be able to expedite matters for you with the city. Best of luck to you! Tony O

Another resource you can check out is this one here: http://www.scorenemass.org . At Score they usually have great assistance to new starters

Hi PrincetonHunt, Check out the Masssachusetts Business Guide. It has all the information you need in terms of the steps to starting, licenses you need, and financing your business, and laws and regulations. Let us know how your business goes! Good luck!

Hi,   Go to business.gov they have all the information you need.    They will show you exactly what you need to do to get your business started.   Good Luck,   Marty Rhoades