California Business Startup Guides

Open a Business in Riverside, California

Need help starting a business in Riverside, California? We've got the information you need to open a business in Riverside.

What Business Are You Starting?

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Free 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 How to Start a Gas Fireplace Piping Installation Business guide or our Starting a Shipping & Receiving Services Business guide.

Don't forget that your new startup will be located in Riverside. Some businesses will do better in Riverside than others. A critical consideration is whether Riverside demographics mesh well with your startup concept.

Riverside, California Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
174288
5-9 Employees
65136
10-19 Employees
45216
20-49 Employees
36576
50-99 Employees
10512
100-249 Employees
8016
250-499 Employees
1680
500-999 Employees
720
1000+ Employees
384
All Riverside Businesses
342528

As a new Riverside entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Riverside 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
Air Traffic Control
1
Aircraft Manufacturing
1
Aluminum Extruded Product Manufacturing
1
Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting)
1
Ambulance Services
1
Amusement and Theme Parks
1
Amusement Arcades
3
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
4
Apprenticeship Training
2
Architectural Services
16
Art Dealers
1
Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing
2
Automobile Driving Schools
3
Automobile Manufacturing
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
9
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
56
Automotive Transmission Repair
18
Baked Goods Stores
10
Ball and Roller Bearing Manufacturing
2
Barber Shops
1
Beauty Salons
49
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
38
Blind and Shade Manufacturing
2
Blood and Organ Banks
1
Boat Building
1
Boat Dealers
5
Book Publishers
4
Book Stores
8
Building Inspection Services
6
Business and Secretarial Schools
2
Business Associations
6
Business to Business Electronic Markets
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
5
Cafeterias
2
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
2
Car Washes
22
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
16
Caterers
5
Cement Manufacturing
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
5
Child and Youth Services
7
Child Day Care Services
53
Civic and Social Organizations
23
Claims Adjusting
5
Clothing Accessories Stores
6
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
3
Collection Agencies
6
Commercial Bakeries
2
Commercial Lithographic Printing
15
Commercial Screen Printing
4
Community Food Services
4
Computer and Software Stores
12
Computer Facilities Management Services
2
Computer Systems Design Services
22
Computer Training
4
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
3
Confectionery and Nut Stores
8
Confectionery Merchant Wholesalers
2
Consumer Lending
12
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
5
Convenience Stores
20
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
5
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
3
Creamery Butter Manufacturing
1
Credit Bureaus
4
Credit Card Issuing
1
Credit Unions
12
Curtain and Drapery Mills
2
Custom Compounding of Purchased Resins
1
Custom Roll Forming
1
Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing
1
Dance Companies
1
Dental Laboratories
9
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
6
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
2
Dimension Stone Mining and Quarrying
1
Direct Mail Advertising
1
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
11
Directory and Mailing List Publishers
1
Discount Department Stores
12
Display Advertising
4
Document Preparation Services
11
Dried and Dehydrated Food Manufacturing
1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
22
Drive-In Motion Picture Theaters
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
35
Educational Support Services
8
Electrical Contractors
104
Electronic Connector Manufacturing
1
Electronic Resistor Manufacturing
1
Elementary and Secondary Schools
13
Employment Placement Agencies
3
Engineering Services
50
Environmental Consulting Services
7
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
7
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
22
Facilities Support Services
2
Family Planning Centers
3
Farm Management Services
1
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
7
Fine Arts Schools
9
Finish Carpentry Contractors
24
Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers
1
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
26
Floor Covering Stores
11
Flooring Contractors
19
Florists
18
Fluid Milk Manufacturing
2
Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
10
Food Service Contractors
9
Framing Contractors
20
Freight Transportation Arrangement
4
Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing
1
Fruit and Vegetable Canning
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
4
Full-Service Restaurants
185
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
8
Furniture Stores
30
General Automotive Repair
94
General Freight Trucking, Local
47
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
3
General Rental Centers
6
General Warehousing and Storage
10
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
22
Golf Courses and Country Clubs
7
Grantmaking Foundations
5
Graphic Design Services
7
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
8
Hardware Stores
9
Hat, Cap, and Millinery Manufacturing
1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
9
Home Centers
4
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
6
Home Health Care Services
33
Home Health Equipment Rental
5
Homes for the Elderly
26
Household Appliance Stores
9
Industrial Building Construction
3
Industrial Launderers
3
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
3
Industrial Sand Mining
1
Inorganic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
91
Interior Design Services
7
Internet Service Providers
2
Investigation Services
12
Investment Advice
23
Iron and Steel Mills
3
Janitorial Services
51
Jewelry Stores
23
Junior Colleges
1
Land Subdivision
12
Landscape Architectural Services
4
Landscaping Services
85
Language Schools
1
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
15
Lime Manufacturing
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
273
Linen Supply
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
5
Locksmiths
4
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
2
Machine Shops
18
Mail-Order Houses
11
Manifold Business Forms Printing
1
Marketing Consulting Services
20
Marking Device Manufacturing
1
Masonry Contractors
28
Meat Markets
5
Media Buying Agencies
1
Media Representatives
1
Medical Laboratories
5
Metal Can Manufacturing
1
Metal Heat Treating
1
Metal Stamping
1
Metal Tank (Heavy Gauge) Manufacturing
2
Metal Window and Door Manufacturing
4
Miscellaneous Intermediation
5
Mobile Food Services
2
Motion Picture and Video Distribution
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
8
Motor and Generator Manufacturing
2
Motor Home Manufacturing
3
Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing
4
Motor Vehicle Towing
15
Motorcycle Dealers
10
Musical Groups and Artists
5
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
3
Nail Salons
14
Natural Gas Distribution
2
New Car Dealers
31
New Housing Operative Builders
13
Newspaper Publishers
4
Nursing Care Facilities
21
Office Administrative Services
24
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers
1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
13
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
40
Offices of Chiropractors
29
Offices of Dentists
167
Offices of Optometrists
16
Offices of Other Holding Companies
5
Offices of Podiatrists
4
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
22
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
2
Optical Goods Stores
8
Outerwear Knitting Mills
1
Packing and Crating
2
Paint and Coating Manufacturing
2
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
5
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
47
Parking Lots and Garages
13
Passenger Car Rental
6
Periodical Publishers
7
Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
10
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
13
Petroleum Bulk Stations and Terminals
2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
29
Photography Studios, Portrait
13
Plastics Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing
1
Plate Work Manufacturing
2
Political Organizations
5
Polystyrene Foam Product Manufacturing
1
Portfolio Management
4
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing
4
Prepress Services
1
Professional Employer Organizations
9
Professional Organizations
4
Public Relations Agencies
6
Quick Printing
5
Radio Networks
1
Radio Stations
8
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
1
Real Estate Investment Trusts
2
Recreational Goods Rental
3
Recreational Vehicle Dealers
7
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
2
Remediation Services
1
Rendering and Meat Byproduct Processing
1
Repossession Services
3
Residential Remodelers
55
Retail Bakeries
5
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
4
Roofing Contractors
26
Sales Financing
2
Savings Institutions
22
Sawmills
1
Securities Brokerage
17
Security Guards and Patrol Services
16
Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
6
Ship Building and Repairing
1
Shoe Stores
32
Sign Manufacturing
6
Site Preparation Contractors
39
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
52
Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing
1
Soft Drink Manufacturing
1
Software Publishers
2
Solid Waste Collection
5
Sound Recording Studios
1
Soybean Processing
1
Special Needs Transportation
2
Sporting Goods Stores
14
Sports and Recreation Instruction
5
Steel Foundries (except Investment)
1
Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing
1
Telecommunications Resellers
5
Telemarketing Bureaus
2
Telephone Answering Services
3
Television Broadcasting
1
Temporary Help Services
35
Temporary Shelters
2
Testing Laboratories
8
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Thread Mills
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
17
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
6
Tire Dealers
24
Tire Retreading
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
7
Toilet Preparation Manufacturing
3
Tradebinding and Related Work
1
Translation and Interpretation Services
1
Travel Agencies
12
Travel Trailer and Camper Manufacturing
3
Truck Trailer Manufacturing
2
Truss Manufacturing
1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
10
Used Merchandise Stores
12
Vending Machine Operators
5
Veterinary Services
22
Video Tape and Disc Rental
19
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
9
Voluntary Health Organizations
11
Water Supply and Irrigation Systems
4
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
40
Window Treatment Stores
4
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
25
Women's Clothing Stores
23
Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturing
3
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

Is Franchising a Better Option?

Browse the Yellow Pages for Riverside and 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 highly recommend you evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Benefits of Owning A Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include ampm Mini Market and Super Clean Yacht Service Franchising, Inc.. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Closet Design and Construction Franchises and Payroll Service Franchises.

Note on Riverside Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Riverside.

Picking a Company Name

A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.

Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.

To get up to speed on what makes for a good company name, we encourage you to read this useful article: Branding Advice.

As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are starting a business in Riverside, it's imperative that you check now that no California company has already registered the company name you have selected.

Marketing Your New Business

To rise above the crowd in Riverside and build your business, you need a excellent marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Media Kits 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.

The Art of Selling

Mastering the art of selling is priority one if you want your new Riverside business to do well.

So what does it take to bring in more prospects and close more business? Fortunately, we've got plenty of good advice to help you improve your selling skills.

Why Salespeople Fail is worth reading, as it may give you some good ideas on how to sell your products or services. We have many more good articles on selling that you may enjoy reading.

Now It's Up To You

Most new Riverside businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

We are here to help Riverside businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Riverside, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Riverside, California

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

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