California Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Hermosa Beach, California
Contemplating starting a business in Hermosa Beach, California? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Hermosa Beach.
Are You Ready for Life as an Owner?
Before announcing to the world that you are going to start your own business, take inventory of your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
Because entrepreneurship is not for everyone, we recommend you do the following to help you assess whether you should move forward with starting a business:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Hermosa Beach. Listen closely to their experiences and see if you think you too can be successful.
- You should read The Entrepreneurial Personality. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Reach out to a trusted acquaintance. Ask them directly: Do I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Listen carefully to their answer, as they presumably know your strengths and weaknesses.
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 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 Snowmobile Equipment, Parts, & Supplies Wholesale & Manufacturers Business guide or our Opening a Tax Return Preparation Accountants Business guide.
Remember that starting a business in Hermosa Beach has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Hermosa Beach than others. A critical consideration is whether Hermosa Beach demographics mesh well with your startup concept.
Hermosa Beach, California Demographic Information
Hermosa Beach has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Hermosa Beach demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Hermosa Beach.
Businesses
As a new Hermosa Beach entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hermosa Beach 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
Picking a Company Name
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.
We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.
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 Hermosa Beach, it's very important that you make sure no other California company is using the business name you want to use.
Forming a Company in Hermosa Beach, California
It's very important that your business is formed as a legal entity that is separate from its owners. 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.
Incorporation is a very common way to legally create a business entity. 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. In fact, you can 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 basics of company formation, browse articles 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 Hermosa Beach, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
Promoting Your New Company
To rise above the crowd in Hermosa Beach and build your business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your successs.
There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Creating a Press Kit is a good read to get your marketing juices flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Learning More About Entrepreneurship
Successful entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.
As an entrepreneur who lives in Hermosa Beach, California, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby California universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking groups or organizations in which Hermosa Beach entrepreneurs get together to network and trade their business experiences.
Never Give Up
You have a dream -- starting a business in Hermosa Beach. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Hermosa Beach and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Hermosa Beach, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Hermosa Beach, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Hermosa Beach.
- Resources for Hermosa Beach, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Hermosa Beach 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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