California Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Fairfield, California
Thinking about starting a business in Fairfield, California? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Fairfield.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
Most new companies do not succeed, in part because the business owner did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you open a 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:
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Fairfield. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- Peruse Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Children's Nursing & Rehabilitation Centers Business guide or our Starting a Specialty & Fancy Boxes Business guide.
Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Fairfield. Some businesses will do better in Fairfield than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Fairfield demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Fairfield, California Demographic Information
Fairfield has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Fairfield demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Fairfield.
Businesses
As a new Fairfield entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Fairfield 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 Fairfield Business?
We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Fairfield.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Forming a Company in Fairfield, California
A critical step is ensuring that you choose the right legal structure for your new entity. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporation is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in California, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in California. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There are many nuances to forming a company. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as ESOP Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Fairfield, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan
A business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in California.
Promoting Your New Business
Whether your goal is to attract Fairfield customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.
You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Print Advertising Costs discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Moving Forward
Most new Fairfield businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Fairfield and throughout the United States . 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 Fairfield, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Fairfield.
- Resources for Fairfield, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Fairfield 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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