California Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Santa Monica, California
Contemplating starting a business in Santa Monica, California? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Santa Monica.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:
- Grab a meal or cofee with other entrepreneurs in Santa Monica. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- Take a look at Starting a Company. It's a short article but it's a good reality check for those are about to jump into the world of entrepreneurship.
- Talk it over with a close friend or partner. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
What Business Are You Starting?
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Good Business Ideas.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Grocery Equipment & Supplies Business guide or our How to Start a Trade Clearing Exchanges Business guide.
Remember that your new business will be in Santa Monica. If Santa Monica already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Study Santa Monica demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Santa Monica, California Demographic Information
Santa Monica has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Santa Monica demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Santa Monica.
Businesses
As a new Santa Monica entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Santa Monica 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 Monica Business?
An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Santa Monica.
If you are headed down the path of buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Selecting a Name For Your Venture
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.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Santa Monica, it's very important that you make sure no other California company is using the business name you want to use.
Company Formation in Santa Monica, California
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Among other things, forming a legal entity for the business limits your liabilities.
The entity you form can be a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership or other structure.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in California, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in California. In fact, you can incorporate wherever you want. For example, it's very popular to incorporate in Delaware, and incorporating in Nevada has become very trendy as well. Don't forget, though, that you will have to register as a foreign entity in all states that you do business in.
There's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Pre-Incorporation Agreements. You should also consider getting professional assistance from your business lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in Santa Monica, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
A business plan is critical in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Indeed, 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 Presentations. You can also get face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in California.
Santa Monica Entrepreneur Interviews
We're compiling a number of interviews with Santa Monica entrepreneurs. Enjoy!
- Interview with Indiespace Founder Jeannie Novak
- Interview with David Pisarra, Founder of Men's Family Law
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Santa Monica. 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 Santa Monica businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Santa Monica, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Santa Monica, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Santa Monica.
- Resources for Santa Monica, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Santa Monica 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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