California Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Sherman Oaks, California
Need help starting a business in Sherman Oaks, California? We've got the information you need to open a business in Sherman Oaks.
Choosing the Right Company to Start
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Free 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 Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.
Don't forget that your new startup will be located in Sherman Oaks. Some businesses will do better in Sherman Oaks than others. Study Sherman Oaks demographics and do a competitive analysis as part of your startup planning process.
Sherman Oaks, California Demographic Information
Sherman Oaks has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Sherman Oaks demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Sherman Oaks.
Businesses
As a new Sherman Oaks entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Sherman Oaks 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 Sherman Oaks Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Sherman Oaks.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: Buying a Business.
Forming a Company in Sherman Oaks, California
It's essential that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will protect you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
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. If 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 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 How to Incorporate. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Sherman Oaks, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is critical in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in California.
Startup Financing Basics
Getting your Sherman Oaks business the capital it needs to succeed will be harder than you might expect. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as Attracting Investors.
For Sherman Oaks entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Sherman Oaks, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Sherman Oaks and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Sherman Oaks 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 Sherman Oaks, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Sherman Oaks.
- Resources for Sherman Oaks, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Sherman Oaks 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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