California Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Santa Clara, California
Thinking about starting a business in Santa Clara, California? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Santa Clara.
Will You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
Running your own business is hard work, much harder than working as an employee. Are you sure 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:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Santa Clara. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
- You should read The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
Santa Clara, California Demographic Information
Santa Clara has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Santa Clara demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Santa Clara.
Businesses
As a new Santa Clara entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Santa Clara 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
Is Franchising a Better Option?
Examine a list of Santa Clara businesses and it's apparent that franchising has become a very popular way to start a business. Should you be giving franchising serious consideration?
We highly recommend you evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Franchising and Veterans. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Representative franchise opportunities include Express Mart Franchising and Hunting Lease Network. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Healthcare Services Franchises and Auto Sales Franchises.
Note on Santa Clara Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Santa Clara.
Forming a Company in Santa Clara, California
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.
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, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in California. In fact, you are allowed to 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 basics of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Piercing the Corporate Veil. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Santa Clara, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
Marketing Your New Venture
To rise above the crowd in Santa Clara and grow your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your business achieving its goals.
You can learn a ton about marketing on our site. Advertising in the Yellow Pages is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge
Successful business owners recognize that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Santa Clara, California, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby California universities, colleges and community colleges. We also suggest you look into networking groups or organizations in which Santa Clara entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
What's Next?
As an entrepreneur in Santa Clara, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Santa Clara businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Santa Clara 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 Clara, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Santa Clara.
- Resources for Santa Clara, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Santa Clara 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.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in California
Starting a Business in Santa Barbara
Starting a Business in Santa Clarita
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Starting a Business Guides for Other States
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