Thinking about starting a business in Corte Madera, California? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Corte Madera.
Choosing the Right Company to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read 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 Opening a Civil Evidence Photographers Business guide or our How to Start a Leather Findings & Finishes Business guide.
Remember that you are starting a business in Corte Madera. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Corte Madera. A critical consideration is whether Corte Madera demographics mesh well with your startup concept.
Corte Madera, California Demographic Information
Corte Madera has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Corte Madera demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Corte Madera.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
817 |
| 5-9 Employees |
270 |
| 10-19 Employees |
207 |
| 20-49 Employees |
129 |
| 50-99 Employees |
57 |
| 100-249 Employees |
27 |
| 250-499 Employees |
9 |
| 500-999 Employees |
0 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Corte Madera Businesses |
1516 |
As a new Corte Madera entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Corte Madera 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 |
| Advertising Agencies |
2 |
| Architectural Services |
1 |
| Art Dealers |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
2 |
| Barber Shops |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
3 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
2 |
| Book Publishers |
1 |
| Book Stores |
2 |
| Business Associations |
3 |
| Cable and Other Program Distribution |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
1 |
| Caterers |
3 |
| Child Day Care Services |
8 |
| Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores |
5 |
| Clothing Accessories Stores |
3 |
| Commercial Photography |
1 |
| Commodity Contracts Brokerage |
1 |
| Commodity Contracts Dealing |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
6 |
| Confectionery and Nut Stores |
1 |
| Continuing Care Retirement Communities |
1 |
| Couriers |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
4 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Directory and Mailing List Publishers |
2 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Doll and Stuffed Toy Manufacturing |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
1 |
| Electronic Shopping |
2 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
3 |
| Engineering Services |
4 |
| Environmental Consulting Services |
2 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
3 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
6 |
| Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
8 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
1 |
| Flooring Contractors |
2 |
| Food Service Contractors |
1 |
| Freight Transportation Arrangement |
3 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
13 |
| Furniture Stores |
4 |
| General Automotive Repair |
1 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
4 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
2 |
| Graphic Design Services |
2 |
| Greeting Card Publishers |
1 |
| Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing |
1 |
| Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Home Health Care Services |
1 |
| Industrial Building Construction |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
3 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Internet Publishing and Broadcasting |
2 |
| Internet Service Providers |
1 |
| Investment Advice |
6 |
| Janitorial Services |
4 |
| Jewelry Stores |
3 |
| Land Subdivision |
1 |
| Landscaping Services |
3 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
10 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
2 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
1 |
| Men's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
3 |
| Motion Picture and Video Production |
5 |
| Motorcycle Dealers |
2 |
| Nail Salons |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
3 |
| Nonresidential Property Managers |
2 |
| Office Administrative Services |
3 |
| Office Supplies and Stationery Stores |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
9 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
8 |
| Offices of Dentists |
9 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
16 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
3 |
| Offices of Other Holding Companies |
1 |
| Optical Goods Stores |
4 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
2 |
| Periodical Publishers |
1 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services |
2 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
1 |
| Polystyrene Foam Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Portfolio Management |
3 |
| Real Estate Credit |
3 |
| Residential Property Managers |
4 |
| Residential Remodelers |
3 |
| Savings Institutions |
2 |
| Securities Brokerage |
5 |
| Shoe Stores |
8 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
6 |
| Software Publishers |
3 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
3 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
2 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
3 |
| Temporary Help Services |
1 |
| Toilet Preparation Manufacturing |
1 |
| Travel Agencies |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
1 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Water Supply and Irrigation Systems |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
4 |
| Window Treatment Stores |
1 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
14 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
1 |
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Corte Madera 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 Corte Madera.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Getting your Corte Madera business the capital it needs to succeed requires strong organization skills and perseverance. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as 504 Loans.
For Corte Madera entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, we have assembled a List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Venture
To grow your Corte Madera business, you need a excellent marketing plan.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Radio Ads 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.
Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset
Good business owners know that they need to continually improve.
With your business being located in Corte Madera, California, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby California universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also beneficial to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Corte Madera entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
What's Next?
Most new Corte Madera businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Corte Madera and elsewhere to achieve real success. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Corte Madera entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Corte Madera, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Corte Madera.
- Resources for Corte Madera, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Corte Madera 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 & International Trade Center (SBDITC) at Southwestern College is part of the California SBDC San Diego and Imperial Regional Network. The SBDITC 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.
- Santa Ana, California Small Business Development Center - The Tri-County Lead Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in the Santa Ana District provides oversight and support for SBDCs located in the Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The Santa Ana SBDC Network is a leader in providing consulting, training, and technical assistance to the small business community.
- Corte Madera, California Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Corte Madera, California newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Corte Madera area.
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