California Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Pasadena, California
Contemplating starting a business in Pasadena, California? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Pasadena.
Is Becoming an Entrepreneur Right for You?
Most startup businesses don't make it, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Pasadena. Get their take on what it's really like to be an entrepreneur.
- We recommend reading Why Small Businesses Fail. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Get feedback from somebody whom you trust. That's the best way to get a truly objective assessment as to whether others think you have what it takes.
Pasadena, California Demographic Information
Pasadena has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Pasadena demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Pasadena.
Businesses
As a new Pasadena entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Pasadena 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
Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?
As you drive around Pasadena, it becomes clear that purchasing a franchise is a common way to get started as an entrepreneur. But is franchising the right option for you?
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. This site has dozens of articles on franchising, such as Benefits of Owning A Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.
A comprehensive list of franchisors is available via our List of Franchise Opportunities.
Representative franchise opportunities include Sign Biz and Flicko's Franchise Corp., Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Vending Franchises and eBay Franchises.
Note on Pasadena Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Pasadena.
Is Buying an Existing Pasadena Business a Good Strategy?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Pasadena.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan is a written description of the future you envision for your business. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Presentations. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in California.
Where to Get Money to Start a Company
Getting your Pasadena business the capital it needs to succeed is not an easy task. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Attracting Investors.
For Pasadena entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Company
To grow your Pasadena business, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.
We have some useful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Phone Book Advertising Costs 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.
Moving Forward
Most new Pasadena 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 Pasadena and elsewhere to achieve real success. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Pasadena, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Pasadena, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Pasadena.
- Resources for Pasadena, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Pasadena 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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