California Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Irvine, California
Need help starting a business in Irvine, California? We've got the information you need to open a business in Irvine.
Do You Have What It Takes?
Being an entrepreneur is difficult, much harder than working as an employee. Are you certain you want to start a business?
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:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Irvine. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- Take a look at The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. 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.
Irvine, California Demographic Information
Irvine has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Irvine demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Irvine.
Businesses
As a new Irvine entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Irvine 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
Naming the Company
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.
Even if the name doesn't do it by itself, many naming experts believe there should be a story behind the name that ties into your company mission.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Company.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are starting a business in Irvine, it's critical that you ensure that no other California company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Irvine, California
It's very important that you form your business as a legal structure. The principal advantage of forming your new business as a legal entity is that it separates your business liabilities from your personal liabilities.
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, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in California. As it turns out, 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. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Company Formation. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Irvine, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in California.
Promoting Your New Company
To grow your Irvine business, you need a great marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. PR Versus Advertising is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Selling Tips
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Irvine business, you need to focus on sales.
Why should customers buy from you instead of buying from competitors? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Hiring Telemarketing Firms to Generate Sales Leads offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.
Now It's Up To You
As an entrepreneur in Irvine, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Irvine and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Irvine 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 Irvine, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Irvine.
- Resources for Irvine, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Irvine 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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