Start a Business in California, Maryland

Thinking about starting a business in California, Maryland? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in California.

What Type of Business Should You Start?

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Good 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 Sand Spreading Service guide or our Starting a Pillow Renovating Business guide.

Don't forget that your new startup will be located in California. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in California. Make sure you fully understand California demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

California, Maryland Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	1260
5-9 Employees	756
10-19 Employees	636
20-49 Employees	492
50-99 Employees	108
100-249 Employees	72
250-499 Employees	24
500-999 Employees	0
1000+ Employees	0
All California Businesses	3348

As a new California entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in California 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
Architectural Services	1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	2
Beauty Salons	5
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	3
Book Stores	1
Cafeterias	1
Car Washes	1
Caterers	1
Child and Youth Services	1
Child Day Care Services	1
Civic and Social Organizations	1
Computer Systems Design Services	4
Computer Training	1
Consumer Lending	1
Convenience Stores	1
Cosmetology and Barber Schools	1
Credit Unions	1
Custom Computer Programming Services	6
Directory and Mailing List Publishers	1
Discount Department Stores	3
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	1
Electrical Contractors	2
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Employment Placement Agencies	1
Engineering Services	17
Exam Preparation and Tutoring	1
Family Clothing Stores	3
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	4
Flight Training	1
Floor Covering Stores	1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	1
Freight Transportation Arrangement	1
Full-Service Restaurants	17
Furniture Stores	2
General Automotive Repair	4
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	3
Hardware Stores	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	1
Home Centers	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	5
Janitorial Services	1
Jewelry Stores	5
Landscaping Services	1
Limited-Service Restaurants	13
Marinas	1
Media Representatives	1
Miscellaneous Intermediation	1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores	2
New Housing Operative Builders	1
Nonresidential Property Managers	2
Office Administrative Services	3
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	1
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	6
Offices of Lawyers	2
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Podiatrists	2
One-Hour Photofinishing	1
Optical Goods Stores	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	1
Photography Studios, Portrait	2
Plate Work Manufacturing	1
Quick Printing	1
Real Estate Credit	3
Residential Property Managers	2
Residential Remodelers	3
Retail Bakeries	1
Savings Institutions	1
School and Employee Bus Transportation	3
Securities Brokerage	1
Shoe Stores	2
Site Preparation Contractors	1
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	2
Solid Waste Collection	1
Sports and Recreation Instruction	1
Telephone Answering Services	1
Tire Dealers	1
Travel Agencies	1
Used Merchandise Stores	1
Video Tape and Disc Rental	3
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1
Women's Clothing Stores	3

Forming a Company in California, Maryland

A critical step is ensuring that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. Doing so will insulate you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.

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 Maryland, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in Maryland. In fact, you can incorporate in any state you would like to. 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Subchapter S Corporations. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in California, Maryland, our information on Incorporating in Maryland may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in Maryland.

Raising Money for Your New Venture

Getting your California business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. If you don't have a rich uncle to fund you, you'll need to be creative in how you approach your fundraising efforts.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Angel Investors.

For California entrepreneurs in need of startup financing, check out our List of Maryland Angel Investors and our List of Maryland Venture Capital Firms.

Promoting Your New Company

Whether your goal is to attract California customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Creating a Press Kit discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Building Up Your Sales

Mastering the art of selling is essential if you want your new California 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.

Writing Great Proposals offers some helpful tips on how to sell. It's one of several good articles on our site regarding Entrepreneurial Selling.

Moving Forward

Most new California businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in California and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in California, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in California, Maryland

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

• Resources for California, Maryland Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist California entrepreneurs.
• Maryland Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Maryland.
• Maryland Small Business Development Center - The Maryland Small Business Development Center Network has six regional offices and more than 20 locations where Maryland entrepreneurs can receive comprehensive, resources and relevant assistance.
• California, Maryland Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for California, Maryland newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the California area.
• California, Maryland Payroll Services - This list includes California, Maryland payroll services, national payroll services for California, and helpful information on choosing a California payroll service.
• California, Maryland Businesses for Sale - This list includes resources for buying a business in California, Maryland, such as business brokers in California and other helpful information on how to buy a California business.

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