California Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in South Pasadena, California
Contemplating starting a business in South Pasadena, California? We walk you through the process of opening a business in South Pasadena.
What Business to Start
There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Evaluating Your Idea.
To view an extensive list of business types, complete with startup instructions, spend some time in the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Opening a Lighting Fixtures Repair, Maintenance & Installation Business guide or our Starting a Process Engineers Business guide.
Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in South Pasadena. Some businesses will do better in South Pasadena than others. Make sure you fully understand South Pasadena demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
South Pasadena, California Demographic Information
South Pasadena has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for South Pasadena demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in South Pasadena.
Businesses
As a new South Pasadena entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in South Pasadena 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
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.
Company names should be fun to say, and they should help people to understand what you do and how you differentiate yourself in the market.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in South Pasadena, it's critical that you ensure that you will be the only California company using the business name you have chosen.
Forming a Company in South Pasadena, California
It's essential that you form your business as a legal structure. 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.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. A key decision is whether to form and S-Corp or a C-Corp, and you also must decide in which state you will incorporate. If you are starting a business in California, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in California. As it turns out, you are allowed to incorporate wherever you want. 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 fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Offshore Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an lawyer. Finally, if you are starting a business in South Pasadena, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
Raising Capital for Your Business
Finding the funds to fuel the growth of your South Pasadena business is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as How to Raise Money.
For South Pasadena entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
Promoting Your New Business
Whether your goal is to attract South Pasadena customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your doing well.
We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Comparing Advertising to PR is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they need to continually improve.
Given that you are starting a business in South Pasadena, 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 South Pasadena networking organizations.
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in South Pasadena, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
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 South Pasadena and throughout the United States . We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in South Pasadena, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in South Pasadena.
- Resources for South Pasadena, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist South Pasadena 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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