California Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Culver City, California

Need help starting a business in Culver City, California? We've got the information you need to open a business in Culver City.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

Most new companies don't make it, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the entrepreneurial skills and traits needed to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:

  • Talk to other entrepreneurs in Culver City. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
  • We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
  • Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.

Culver City, California Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
3832
5-9 Employees
1164
10-19 Employees
882
20-49 Employees
666
50-99 Employees
255
100-249 Employees
156
250-499 Employees
30
500-999 Employees
24
1000+ Employees
3
All Culver City Businesses
7012

As a new Culver City entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Culver City 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
Amusement Arcades
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
21
Art Dealers
4
Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing
2
Automotive Exhaust System Repair
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
6
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
12
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
5
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Book Publishers
6
Book Stores
6
Broadwoven Fabric Finishing Mills
1
Business Associations
3
Cafeterias
2
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
3
Car Washes
1
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Caterers
8
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child and Youth Services
6
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores
2
Civic and Social Organizations
4
Claims Adjusting
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Commercial Bakeries
1
Commercial Gravure Printing
1
Commercial Photography
10
Commercial Screen Printing
2
Community Food Services
2
Computer and Software Stores
8
Computer Facilities Management Services
1
Computer Systems Design Services
9
Confectionery and Nut Stores
2
Consumer Lending
3
Convenience Stores
4
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
6
Couriers
5
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
2
Credit Unions
4
Custom Computer Programming Services
33
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
5
Digital Printing
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
1
Direct Mail Advertising
4
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Discount Department Stores
1
Document Preparation Services
4
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
6
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
4
Educational Support Services
2
Electric Power Distribution
2
Electrical Contractors
20
Electronic Resistor Manufacturing
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
10
Emergency and Other Relief Services
1
Employment Placement Agencies
6
Engineering Services
16
Environmental Consulting Services
2
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
6
Facilities Support Services
1
Fine Arts Schools
3
Finish Carpentry Contractors
3
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
7
Floor Covering Stores
3
Flooring Contractors
5
Florists
6
Food Service Contractors
6
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Freight Transportation Arrangement
1
Fruit and Vegetable Canning
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
49
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
7
Furniture Stores
13
General Automotive Repair
26
General Freight Trucking, Local
2
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
2
General Rental Centers
2
General Warehousing and Storage
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
3
Grantmaking Foundations
6
Graphic Design Services
18
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Hardware Stores
3
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
4
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
2
Home Health Equipment Rental
1
Homes for the Elderly
3
Household Appliance Stores
3
Human Rights Organizations
2
Industrial Design Services
2
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
1
Industrial Valve Manufacturing
1
Interior Design Services
10
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
1
Internet Service Providers
2
Investment Advice
8
Janitorial Services
10
Jewelry (except Costume) Manufacturing
2
Jewelry Stores
8
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Land Subdivision
3
Landscape Architectural Services
3
Landscaping Services
19
Language Schools
1
Lead Pencil and Art Good Manufacturing
1
Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
73
Limousine Service
8
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
5
Mail-Order Houses
5
Marketing Consulting Services
10
Meat Markets
2
Media Representatives
1
Medical Laboratories
3
Men's Clothing Stores
12
Metal Stamping
2
Miscellaneous Intermediation
2
Mixed Mode Transit Systems
1
Mobile Food Services
2
Motion Picture and Video Distribution
2
Motion Picture and Video Production
99
Motor Vehicle Towing
3
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Museums
2
Music Publishers
1
Musical Groups and Artists
5
New Car Dealers
8
New Housing Operative Builders
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
5
Nursing Care Facilities
3
Office Administrative Services
14
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
21
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
34
Offices of Lawyers
37
Offices of Optometrists
7
Offices of Other Holding Companies
1
Offices of Podiatrists
2
One-Hour Photofinishing
2
Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing
2
Optical Goods Stores
2
Outerwear Knitting Mills
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
5
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
8
Passenger Car Leasing
1
Passenger Car Rental
3
Payroll Services
2
Periodical Publishers
5
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
5
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
3
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
12
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing
1
Plate Work Manufacturing
1
Political Organizations
1
Portfolio Management
3
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
1
Prepress Services
2
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Organizations
1
Public Relations Agencies
8
Quick Printing
6
Radio Stations
2
Real Estate Credit
10
Real Estate Investment Trusts
1
Record Production
2
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
9
Residential Remodelers
18
Retail Bakeries
1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
7
Roofing Contractors
3
Sales Financing
3
Savings Institutions
5
Secondary Market Financing
2
Securities Brokerage
2
Security Guards and Patrol Services
7
Shoe Stores
17
Sign Manufacturing
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
16
Sound Recording Studios
6
Specialty Canning
1
Sporting Goods Stores
5
Sports and Recreation Instruction
6
Tax Preparation Services
8
Telecommunications Resellers
2
Telemarketing Bureaus
2
Temporary Shelters
1
Testing Laboratories
2
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
4
Tire Dealers
4
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
3
Tour Operators
1
Translation and Interpretation Services
1
Travel Agencies
6
Underwear and Nightwear Knitting Mills
1
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
2
Used Merchandise Stores
5
Veterinary Services
5
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
7
Voluntary Health Organizations
3
Watch, Clock, and Part Manufacturing
1
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
1
Web Search Portals
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
10
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
4

Have You Considered Franchising?

As you drive around Culver City, it becomes clear that purchasing a franchise is a common way to get started as an entrepreneur. But is franchising the right option for you?

Most business experts recommend that you consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Franchise Law. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include BurritoVille and JerkQ'zine. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Video and Photography Franchises and Florist Franchises.

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

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Culver City Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in Culver City.

If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

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.

Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.

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

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Culver City, it's imperative that you check now that no other California company is using the business name you want to use.

Company Formation in Culver City, California

A critical step is ensuring that you form your business as a legal structure. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

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. Just because you are starting a business in California, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in California. In fact, you can incorporate in the state of your choosing. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.

There's a lot to know about forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Dissolving a Corporation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Culver City, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.

Next Steps

Most new Culver City businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Culver City businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Culver City 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 Culver City, California

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in California

Starting a Business in Crestline
Starting a Business in Cupertino

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

 

 

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