California Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in Taft, California
Need help starting a business in Taft, California? We've got the information you need to open a business in Taft.
Taft, California Demographic Information
Taft has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Taft demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Taft.
Businesses
As a new Taft entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Taft 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
What About Franchising Opportunities?
As you drive around Taft, it becomes clear that purchasing a franchise is a common way to get started as an entrepreneur. Is there a franchise opportunity out there that makes sense for you?
Most business experts recommend that you look into purchasing a franchise. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Buying a Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Rent-A-Wreck and Country Clutter. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Food and Drink Franchises and Insurance Franchises.
Note on Taft Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Taft.
Selecting a Name For Your Venture
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.
Pick a company name that isn't too generic. If you do a search engine search for your proposed name and a billion results come up, you may want to reconsider the name. It's much easier to come up in the search engines when your name is fairly unique.
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 Taft, it's imperative that you check now that no other California company is using the business name you want to use.
Company Formation in Taft, California
A critical step is ensuring that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will separate 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. 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. 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 Nevada Incorporation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Taft, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. In effect, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. 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. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in California.
Bring in Revenues
Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new Taft business to do well.
Good selling involves demonstrating that your wares meet your customer's needs. Let us help you refine your selling techniques through our many useful sales advice tips.
Anticipating Prospect Responses is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.
Next Steps
Most new Taft businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Taft businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Taft, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Taft, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Taft.
- Resources for Taft, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Taft 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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