California Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Sonora, California
Contemplating starting a business in Sonora, California? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Sonora.
Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?
Most new businesses don't make it, in part because the founder did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Sonora. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
Sonora, California Demographic Information
Sonora has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Sonora demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Sonora.
Businesses
As a new Sonora entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Sonora 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 Sonora 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 Sonora.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.
Picking a Business Name
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
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 Sonora, it's imperative that you check now that no other California company is using the business name you want to use.
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in California.
The Art of Selling
Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Sonora business to do well.
Clever sales techniques can transform any business from good to great. Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.
Selling on the Phone is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Never Give Up
Most new Sonora businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Sonora and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Sonora, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Sonora, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Sonora.
- Resources for Sonora, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Sonora 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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