California Business Startup Guides

Start a Business in South San Francisco, California

Are you starting a business in South San Francisco, California? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in South San Francisco.

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? To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.

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 an Ergonomics Business guide or our How to Start a Hot Air Balloon Rides & Rental Business guide.

Always keep in mind that South San Francisco is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in South San Francisco than others. Only by spending some time analyzing South San Francisco demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

South San Francisco, California Demographic Information

South San Francisco has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for South San Francisco demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in South San Francisco.

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2934
5-9 Employees
1299
10-19 Employees
1011
20-49 Employees
827
50-99 Employees
336
100-249 Employees
135
250-499 Employees
33
500-999 Employees
15
1000+ Employees
6
All South San Francisco Businesses
6596

As a new South San Francisco entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in South San Francisco 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.

Business Type
# of
Businesses
Amusement Arcades
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
3
Architectural Services
3
Art Dealers
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
4
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
9
Automotive Transmission Repair
3
Barber Shops
2
Beauty Salons
5
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
5
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
4
Boat Dealers
1
Book Publishers
1
Book Stores
1
Bowling Centers
1
Business Associations
3
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cafeterias
2
Car Washes
3
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
4
Caterers
11
Child and Youth Services
2
Child Day Care Services
13
Civic and Social Organizations
6
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Commercial Bakeries
3
Commercial Flexographic Printing
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
11
Commodity Contracts Dealing
3
Computer and Software Stores
4
Computer Systems Design Services
11
Confectionery and Nut Stores
4
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
5
Consumer Lending
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
2
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
4
Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing
1
Couriers
15
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Unions
3
Curtain and Drapery Mills
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
19
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Digital Printing
2
Direct Life Insurance Carriers
2
Document Preparation Services
2
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
9
Dry Pasta Manufacturing
1
Educational Support Services
1
Electrical Contractors
13
Electronic Shopping
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
14
Envelope Manufacturing
1
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Facilities Support Services
1
Fine Arts Schools
2
Finish Carpentry Contractors
9
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
6
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
8
Flooring Contractors
7
Florists
3
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
2
Food Service Contractors
17
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
1
Framing Contractors
2
Freight Transportation Arrangement
149
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
4
Full-Service Restaurants
57
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
2
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
2
Furniture Stores
10
General Automotive Repair
26
General Freight Trucking, Local
25
General Rental Centers
1
General Warehousing and Storage
6
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
5
Glass and Glazing Contractors
3
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Graphic Design Services
2
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Stores
2
Hazardous Waste Collection
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
1
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
15
Home Health Care Services
12
Home Health Equipment Rental
3
Homes for the Elderly
6
Hydroelectric Power Generation
1
Industrial Design Services
1
Industrial Launderers
3
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
1
Institutional Furniture Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
11
Interior Design Services
1
Investigation Services
1
Investment Advice
3
Janitorial Services
30
Jewelry Stores
3
Kidney Dialysis Centers
1
Landscape Architectural Services
2
Landscaping Services
13
Leather and Hide Tanning and Finishing
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
40
Limousine Service
13
Linen Supply
2
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
3
Locksmiths
2
Mail-Order Houses
3
Marinas
2
Marketing Consulting Services
4
Masonry Contractors
2
Meat Markets
2
Meat Processed from Carcasses
2
Media Representatives
1
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
1
Mobile Food Services
4
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
6
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing
2
Motor Vehicle Towing
6
Motorcycle Dealers
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
3
New Car Dealers
3
Newspaper Publishers
2
Nonresidential Property Managers
4
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Administrative Services
6
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
4
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
7
Offices of Chiropractors
18
Offices of Dentists
62
Offices of Lawyers
16
Offices of Optometrists
4
Offices of Other Holding Companies
2
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
5
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
2
Packing and Crating
2
Paint and Coating Manufacturing
1
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
3
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
16
Passenger Car Rental
23
Payroll Services
1
Periodical Publishers
4
Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
6
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Portfolio Management
2
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
2
Prepress Services
1
Professional Organizations
3
Public Relations Agencies
1
Quick Printing
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Investment Trusts
3
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
1
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
7
Residential Remodelers
18
Retail Bakeries
6
Roofing Contractors
9
Savings Institutions
2
Scheduled Freight Air Transportation
4
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation
2
Securities Brokerage
4
Security Guards and Patrol Services
4
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
4
Site Preparation Contractors
1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
10
Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing
1
Software Publishers
8
Solid Waste Collection
2
Sound Recording Studios
1
Specialty Canning
1
Tax Preparation Services
6
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing
1
Temporary Help Services
11
Testing Laboratories
1
Textile Machinery Manufacturing
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
2
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
1
Tour Operators
1
Tradebinding and Related Work
2
Travel Agencies
10
Used Car Dealers
2
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
9
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
26
Wineries
1
Women's Clothing Stores
1
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

What About Buying an Existing South San Francisco Business?

An excellent way to get started in business is to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you might discover several good businesses for sale in South San Francisco.

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.

Naming the Company

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.

Companies like Starbucks, Apple, Target, Microsoft and Intuit all have strong company names that are easy to remember and have become well-loved brands. Wouldn't it be nice if your new company name got on a similar track?

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Naming a Company.

On a final note, given that you are planning on starting a business in South San Francisco, it's imperative that you check now that your company name has not already been claimed by another California business.

Make Sure You Have a Business Plan

A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Mistakes. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in California.

Promoting Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract South San Francisco customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your succeeding.

You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Advertising on Google discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Never Give Up

Most new South San Francisco businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help South San Francisco businesses to be successful. 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 San Francisco, California

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in South San Francisco.

More Business Startup Guides for California

Starting a Business in South Pasadena
Starting a Business in Springville

Browse All Business Startup Guides for California
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