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.
Businesses
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.
Businesses
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.
- Resources for Culver City, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Culver City entrepreneurs.
- California Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in California.
- Fresno, California Small Business Development Center - The UC Merced SBDC Regional Network assists Central California entrepreneurs and small business owners through counseling, training and business information.
- Los Angeles, California Small Business Development Center - The Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Center Network (LA SBDC Network) is part of the national, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) effort to provide free one-on-one customized consulting services and low-cost training workshops to growing businesses and start-up businesses.
- Sacramento, California Small Business Development Center - As Northern California continues to grow demographically and economically, the Northeastern California Small Business Development Center (NECSBDC) at CSU, Chico is committed to helping communities prepare and plan for future growth.
- San Diego, California Small Business Development Center - The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Southwestern College serves entrepreneurs and small businesses in San Diego and Imperial Counties. The SBDC provides no-cost business assistance to start-up & existing businesses.
- San Francisco, California Small Business Development Center - The Northern California Network of Small Business Development Centers helps individuals start, manage and grow their businesses.
- Orange County Small Business Development Center - The Orange County SBDC is a leader in providing consulting, training, and technical assistance to the small business community.
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