California Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Hollister, California
Thinking about starting a business in Hollister, California? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Hollister.
Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?
Most new businesses fail, 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:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Hollister. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- Take a look at Starting a Company. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Talk it over with a close friend or partner. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read Good Business Ideas.
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 Starting an Alzheimer's Support Group guide or our How to Start a Gypsum & Gypsum Products Business guide.
Remember that Hollister is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in Hollister than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Hollister demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Hollister, California Demographic Information
Hollister has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Hollister demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Hollister.
Businesses
As a new Hollister entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hollister 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
Selecting a Name For Your Startup
A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.
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 Company.
On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in Hollister, it's imperative that you check now that no other California company is using the business name you want to use.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
A business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write 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.
Raising Funding for Your Startup
Getting your Hollister business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.
For Hollister entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, browse our List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
How to Sell
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Hollister business to do well.
Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Closing Sales Techniques is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Never Give Up
Most new Hollister 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 Hollister and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Hollister 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 Hollister, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Hollister.
- Resources for Hollister, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Hollister 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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