California Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in El Cajon, California
Thinking about starting a business in El Cajon, California? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in El Cajon.
What Business Are You Starting?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Good Business Ideas.
To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Paternity Testing Business guide or our Opening a Pictures & Prints Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide.
Always keep in mind that El Cajon is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in El Cajon than others. Don't forget to review El Cajon demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
El Cajon, California Demographic Information
El Cajon has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for El Cajon demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in El Cajon.
Businesses
As a new El Cajon entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in El Cajon 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 Buying an Existing El Cajon Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you can assess several good businesses for sale in El Cajon.
Before buying a business, be sure to read this article: Buying a Business.
Company Formation in El Cajon, California
It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
When forming a company, you will select one of many company types, such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. 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, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in California. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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'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 Pre-Incorporation Agreements. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in El Cajon, California, our web page covering Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Raising money to fund your new El Cajon business requires strong organization skills and perseverance. The reality is that there is very little funding available for new small businesses, and you have to explore every possible alternative.
Take advantage of our many articles on securing funding, such as 504 Loans.
For El Cajon entrepreneurs who need startup capital, we have assembled a List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Startup
To rise above the crowd in El Cajon and build your business, you need a excellent marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Phone Book Advertising Costs discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
What's Next?
Most new El Cajon businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in El Cajon and elsewhere to achieve real success. 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 El Cajon, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in El Cajon.
- Resources for El Cajon, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist El Cajon 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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