California Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Montecito, California
Contemplating starting a business in Montecito, California? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Montecito.
Have You Considered Franchising?
As you drive around Montecito, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Would going with a franchise be a good idea for you?
Our advice is to consider franchising as an option. We have many articles on franchises, such as Buying a Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include MEDIchair and HR First Contact. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Training and Education Franchises and IT Franchises.
Note on Montecito Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Montecito.
Naming the Business
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.
We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.
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 Montecito, it's imperative that you check now that your company name has not already been claimed by another California business.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, 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 The Art of the Executive Summary. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in California.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Raising money to fund your new Montecito business will be harder than you might expect. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.
For Montecito entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, browse our List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
Ramping Up Sales
Mastering the art of selling is a must if you want your new Montecito business to do well.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? The good news is we can help you to make selling a big competitve advantage for your new firm.
Selling Products on eBay is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
What's Next?
Most new Montecito businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Montecito and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Montecito, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Montecito, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Montecito.
- Resources for Montecito, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Montecito 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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