California Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Palm Desert, California
Contemplating starting a business in Palm Desert, California? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Palm Desert.
Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, take inventory of 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:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Palm Desert. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Palm Desert, California Demographic Information
Palm Desert has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Palm Desert demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Palm Desert.
Businesses
As a new Palm Desert entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Palm Desert 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
Forming a Company in Palm Desert, California
A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will shield 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 common way to legally create a business entity. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. If you are starting a business in California, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in California. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. 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 Subchapter S Corporations. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Palm Desert, 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?
Having a business plan is essential to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
To learn more about business plans, read Reasons to Write a Business Plan. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in California.
Startup Financing Basics
Getting your Palm Desert business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as 504 Loans.
For Palm Desert entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, browse our List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Startup
To grow your Palm Desert business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Advertising on Google is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities
Good entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
With your business being located in Palm Desert, California, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby California universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking organizations for Palm Desert entrepreneurs.
What's Next?
You have a dream -- starting a business in Palm Desert. 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 Palm Desert businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Palm Desert 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 Palm Desert, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Palm Desert.
- Resources for Palm Desert, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Palm Desert 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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