California Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Santa Barbara, California
Need help starting a business in Santa Barbara, California? We've got the information you need to open a business in Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara, California Demographic Information
Santa Barbara has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Santa Barbara demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Santa Barbara.
Businesses
As a new Santa Barbara entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara Business?
We've created a handy website page for those who want to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Santa Barbara.
If you are intent on buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
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.
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.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Santa Barbara, it's very important that you make sure no other California company is using the business name you want to use.
Raising Capital for Your Venture
Getting your Santa Barbara 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 money, such as Choosing VC Firms.
For Santa Barbara entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, check out our List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Venture
Whether your goal is to attract Santa Barbara customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.
You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Examples of Marketing Strategies is a good read to get your marketing thoughts flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Building Up Your Sales
Being able to sell is critical to your business success. Whether you are focused on selling local customers in Santa Barbara or are selling to customers throughout California, the United States or even the world, you have to be able to sell.
So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Effective Sales Presentations 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.
Santa Barbara Entrepreneur Interviews
Enjoy these interviews we've had with Santa Barbara entrepreneurs.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Santa Barbara. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Santa Barbara businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Santa Barbara.
- Resources for Santa Barbara, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Santa Barbara 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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