California Business Startup Guides
Open a Business in San Jose, California
Need help starting a business in San Jose, California? We've got the information you need to open a business in San Jose.
What Business Are You Starting?
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.
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 Canoe & Kayak Rental & Leasing Business guide or our Opening an Escrow Title Company guide.
Remember that starting a business in San Jose has some implications. The business you want to start may already be well-represented in San Jose. Don't forget to review San Jose demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
San Jose, California Demographic Information
San Jose has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for San Jose demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in San Jose.
Businesses
As a new San Jose entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in San Jose 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
Company Formation in San Jose, California
A critical step is ensuring that you form your business as a legal structure. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
When forming a company, you will choose from many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating is a very popular way to form a business. Of course, you have to decide which type of corporation to form and where to incorporate. Just because you are starting a business in California, it doesn't mean you are required to incorporate in California. As it turns out, you are allowed to incorporate in any state you would like to. However, if you do incorporate in another state, you'll have to register as a foreign corporation in your home state.
There's a lot to know about forming a company. To learn the fundamentals of company formation, browse articles on our site, such as Offshore Company Formation. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in San Jose, California, our web page covering Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
Getting Money to Start a Business
Obtaining startup financing for your San Jose business is a difficult chore. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
To learn about raising money, we recommend you read the fundraising articles on our site, such as Business Cash Advances.
For San Jose entrepreneurs with great ambition but a shortage of investment capital, check out our List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
Marketing Your New Company
Whether your goal is to attract San Jose customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you need a great marketing plan.
We have some great resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Six Tips for Getting Customer Testimonials is an article that will generate a few thoughts on your marketing plan. That's just a taste of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.
Increase Your Entrepreneurial Knowledge
Good business owners know that they need to continually improve.
As an entrepreneur who lives in San Jose, California, you should get information on some of the many programs available at nearby California universities, colleges and community colleges. Another way to keep up on your entrepreneurial education is to investigate networking organizations for San Jose entrepreneurs.
Interviews With San Jose Entrepreneurs
We're compiling a number of interviews with San Jose entrepreneurs. Enjoy!
Next Steps
As an entrepreneur in San Jose, you won't be working for the boss anymore. You are the boss.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help San Jose businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new San Jose entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in San Jose, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in San Jose.
- Resources for San Jose, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist San Jose 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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