Thinking about starting a business in Oakdale, California? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Oakdale.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before you get too far along in the process, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Reach out to other entrepreneurs in Oakdale. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- Peruse Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
What Business Are You Starting?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. You might get some good ideas about what kind of business to start by reading Finding Your Niche in Life.
If you still are not sure what type of business to start, peruse the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our How to Start a Birth Control & Family Planning Information & Services Business guide or our Starting a Recording Studio Equipment Business guide.
Remember that you are starting a business in Oakdale. If Oakdale 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 Oakdale demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.
Oakdale, California Demographic Information
Oakdale has an active business community that includes small businesses,
mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Oakdale demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Oakdale.
| Business Size | # of
Businesses |
| 1-4 Employees |
9981 |
| 5-9 Employees |
3240 |
| 10-19 Employees |
1809 |
| 20-49 Employees |
1620 |
| 50-99 Employees |
297 |
| 100-249 Employees |
81 |
| 250-499 Employees |
81 |
| 500-999 Employees |
27 |
| 1000+ Employees |
0 |
| All Oakdale Businesses |
17136 |
As a new Oakdale entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Oakdale 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 |
1 |
| Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores |
4 |
| Automotive Transmission Repair |
1 |
| Beauty Salons |
4 |
| Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores |
3 |
| Boat Dealers |
1 |
| Business Associations |
1 |
| Cafeterias |
2 |
| Car Washes |
2 |
| Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services |
1 |
| Casinos (except Casino Hotels) |
1 |
| Cemeteries and Crematories |
2 |
| Cheese Manufacturing |
1 |
| Child Day Care Services |
5 |
| Collection Agencies |
1 |
| Commercial Lithographic Printing |
1 |
| Computer and Software Stores |
1 |
| Computer Systems Design Services |
1 |
| Computer Training |
1 |
| Construction Machinery Manufacturing |
1 |
| Convenience Stores |
5 |
| Credit Unions |
1 |
| Custom Computer Programming Services |
1 |
| Dental Laboratories |
1 |
| Direct Title Insurance Carriers |
4 |
| Discount Department Stores |
1 |
| Document Preparation Services |
1 |
| Drafting Services |
1 |
| Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) |
5 |
| Drywall and Insulation Contractors |
3 |
| Educational Support Services |
1 |
| Electrical Contractors |
6 |
| Electronic Shopping |
1 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
1 |
| Engineering Services |
8 |
| Exam Preparation and Tutoring |
1 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services |
3 |
| Family Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Fine Arts Schools |
1 |
| Finish Carpentry Contractors |
1 |
| Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers |
3 |
| Floor Covering Stores |
2 |
| Flooring Contractors |
3 |
| Florists |
1 |
| Food (Health) Supplement Stores |
1 |
| Framing Contractors |
1 |
| Fruit and Vegetable Canning |
1 |
| Full-Service Restaurants |
21 |
| Funeral Homes and Funeral Services |
2 |
| Furniture Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Furniture Stores |
3 |
| General Automotive Repair |
5 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local |
3 |
| General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
1 |
| General Rental Centers |
1 |
| General Warehousing and Storage |
1 |
| Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores |
2 |
| Glass and Glazing Contractors |
1 |
| Golf Courses and Country Clubs |
1 |
| Graphic Design Services |
2 |
| Hardware Manufacturing |
1 |
| Hardware Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Hardware Stores |
1 |
| Heating Oil Dealers |
1 |
| Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores |
2 |
| Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers |
1 |
| Homes for the Elderly |
1 |
| Insurance Agencies and Brokerages |
9 |
| Interior Design Services |
1 |
| Janitorial Services |
3 |
| Landscaping Services |
12 |
| Language Schools |
1 |
| Lessors of Other Real Estate Property |
1 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants |
22 |
| Livestock Merchant Wholesalers |
2 |
| Locksmiths |
1 |
| Machine Shops |
3 |
| Mail-Order Houses |
1 |
| Marketing Consulting Services |
1 |
| Masonry Contractors |
3 |
| Materials Recovery Facilities |
1 |
| Meat Markets |
2 |
| Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing |
1 |
| Metal Can Manufacturing |
1 |
| Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers |
2 |
| Motor and Generator Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing |
1 |
| Motor Vehicle Towing |
1 |
| Museums |
1 |
| New Car Dealers |
4 |
| Newspaper Publishers |
1 |
| Offices of Certified Public Accountants |
7 |
| Offices of Chiropractors |
8 |
| Offices of Dentists |
9 |
| Offices of Lawyers |
6 |
| Offices of Optometrists |
3 |
| Offices of Podiatrists |
1 |
| Offices of Real Estate Appraisers |
2 |
| Outdoor Power Equipment Stores |
1 |
| Paint and Coating Manufacturing |
1 |
| Paint and Wallpaper Stores |
1 |
| Painting and Wall Covering Contractors |
5 |
| Pet and Pet Supplies Stores |
1 |
| Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals |
1 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Stores |
5 |
| Photography Studios, Portrait |
2 |
| Polystyrene Foam Product Manufacturing |
1 |
| Portfolio Management |
1 |
| Private Mail Centers |
2 |
| Radio Stations |
1 |
| Real Estate Credit |
4 |
| Recreational Goods Rental |
2 |
| Remediation Services |
1 |
| Residential Property Managers |
1 |
| Residential Remodelers |
10 |
| Roofing Contractors |
4 |
| Savings Institutions |
2 |
| Securities Brokerage |
5 |
| Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing |
2 |
| Shellfish Fishing |
1 |
| Shoe Stores |
1 |
| Site Preparation Contractors |
9 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars |
5 |
| Sporting Goods Stores |
2 |
| Sports and Recreation Instruction |
1 |
| Tax Preparation Services |
5 |
| Tile and Terrazzo Contractors |
3 |
| Tire Dealers |
2 |
| Travel Agencies |
1 |
| Truss Manufacturing |
1 |
| Used Car Dealers |
2 |
| Used Household and Office Goods Moving |
1 |
| Used Merchandise Stores |
2 |
| Veterinary Services |
7 |
| Video Tape and Disc Rental |
1 |
| Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers |
4 |
| Wired Telecommunications Carriers |
1 |
| Women's Clothing Stores |
1 |
| Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing |
2 |
The Role of the Business Plan
A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read The Art of the Executive Summary. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in California.
Marketing Your New Business
To grow your Oakdale business, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your doing well.
You can learn plenty about marketing on our site. Introduction to Advertising is a good read to get your marketing thoughts flowing. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
The best entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.
With your business being located in Oakdale, California, you should get information on some of the many programs available at nearby California universities, colleges and community colleges. You should also check if there are any networking organizations for Oakdale entrepreneurs.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Oakdale. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Oakdale businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Oakdale, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Oakdale, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Oakdale.
- Resources for Oakdale, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Oakdale 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.
- Oakdale, California Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Oakdale, California newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Oakdale area.
- Oakdale, California Radio Advertising Prices - To help you in your marketing efforts, we've gathered radio advertising rates for Oakdale, California area radio stations.
- Oakdale, California Payroll Services - This list includes Oakdale, California payroll services, national payroll services for Oakdale, and helpful information on choosing a Oakdale payroll service.
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