California Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Lakewood, California

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

What Business Are You Starting?

An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.

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 Night Clubs Business guide or our Opening a Tennis Courts Business guide.

Remember that Lakewood is the place where you are starting a business. If Lakewood already has plenty of the kind of business you want to start, you might want to change your plans. Only by spending some time analyzing Lakewood demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Lakewood, California Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
14346
5-9 Employees
5103
10-19 Employees
4050
20-49 Employees
3429
50-99 Employees
783
100-249 Employees
567
250-499 Employees
81
500-999 Employees
81
1000+ Employees
27
All Lakewood Businesses
28467

As a new Lakewood entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Lakewood 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
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Automobile Driving Schools
1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
5
Baked Goods Stores
2
Beauty Salons
26
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
9
Book Stores
4
Building Inspection Services
2
Business Associations
2
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cafeterias
2
Car Washes
6
Caterers
2
Child Day Care Services
18
Civic and Social Organizations
4
Claims Adjusting
1
Clothing Accessories Stores
5
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
1
Collection Agencies
1
Commercial Bakeries
1
Community Food Services
1
Computer Systems Design Services
2
Confectionery and Nut Stores
1
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
2
Couriers
2
Credit Unions
3
Custom Computer Programming Services
7
Dental Laboratories
2
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
3
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Discount Department Stores
3
Document Preparation Services
3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
8
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
3
Electrical Contractors
10
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Employment Placement Agencies
1
Engineering Services
4
Environmental Consulting Services
1
Facilities Support Services
1
Family Clothing Stores
9
Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
7
Florists
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
4
Footwear and Leather Goods Repair
1
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
3
Freight Transportation Arrangement
5
Full-Service Restaurants
42
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
1
Furniture Stores
2
General Freight Trucking, Local
3
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
8
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
1
Graphic Design Services
1
Hardware Stores
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
4
Home Health Care Services
5
Homes for the Elderly
2
Human Rights Organizations
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
34
Internet Service Providers
1
Investment Advice
1
Janitorial Services
8
Kidney Dialysis Centers
4
Land Subdivision
1
Landscaping Services
7
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
69
Locksmiths
1
Machine Shops
1
Marketing Consulting Services
1
Masonry Contractors
3
Meat Markets
1
Men's Clothing Stores
7
Mineral Wool Manufacturing
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
3
Motion Picture and Video Production
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
10
New Car Dealers
2
New Housing Operative Builders
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
2
Nursing Care Facilities
1
Office Administrative Services
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
2
Offices of Chiropractors
7
Offices of Dentists
25
Offices of Lawyers
9
Offices of Optometrists
6
Offices of Podiatrists
3
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
1
Optical Goods Stores
5
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
10
Passenger Car Rental
1
Payroll Services
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
7
Portfolio Management
2
Private Mail Centers
2
Quick Printing
1
Real Estate Credit
5
Residential Property Managers
8
Residential Remodelers
11
Retail Bakeries
1
Savings Institutions
6
Securities Brokerage
3
Security Guards and Patrol Services
2
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
1
Shoe Stores
15
Site Preparation Contractors
4
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
13
Sporting Goods Stores
3
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
8
Television Broadcasting
1
Temporary Help Services
7
Testing Laboratories
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
4
Tobacco Stores
1
Tour Operators
1
Travel Agencies
4
Used Car Dealers
1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Used Merchandise Stores
1
Veterinary Services
1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
3
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
5
Women's Clothing Stores
22

Have You Considered Buying an Existing Lakewood Business?

If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Lakewood.

If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: How to Buy a Business.

Don't Skip the Business Plan

Having a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.

If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Contests. You should also take advantage of free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in California.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Getting your Lakewood business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.

Recognizing this challenge, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled How Equity Dilution Works.

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

Marketing Your New Venture

To grow your Lakewood business, you need a great marketing plan.

We have some excellent resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Competitive Analysis is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.

Improving Your Entrepreneurial Skillset

Good entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.

With your business being located in Lakewood, California, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local California educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any networking organizations for Lakewood entrepreneurs.

Never Give Up

As an entrepreneur in Lakewood, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Lakewood and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Lakewood, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Lakewood, California

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in California

Starting a Business in Lakeport
Starting a Business in Lamont

Browse All Business Startup Guides for California
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary