California Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Glendale, California
Thinking about starting a business in Glendale, California? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Glendale.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, consider your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Glendale. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- You should read Starting a Company. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Talk it over with a close friend or partner. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.
Glendale, California Demographic Information
Glendale has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Glendale demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Glendale.
Businesses
As a new Glendale entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Glendale 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 Glendale Business?
We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Glendale.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Forming a Company in Glendale, California
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will separate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
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. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If 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 are many nuances to forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Avoiding Personal Liability in Business. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Glendale, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Find Sample Business Plans Online. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in California.
How to Sell
Being able to sell is fundamental to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Glendale or are selling to customers throughout California, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Why Salespeople Fail is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
Now It's Up To You
You have a dream -- starting a business in Glendale. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
We are here to help Glendale businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Glendale, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Glendale, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Glendale.
- Resources for Glendale, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Glendale 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.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in California
Starting a Business in Gilroy
Starting a Business in Glendora
Browse All Business Startup Guides for California
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs