California Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Scotts Valley, California
Contemplating starting a business in Scotts Valley, California? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Scotts Valley.
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? We recommend that you 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 Starting a Wall & Ceiling Cleaning Service guide or our Starting a Diesel Generators Business guide.
Remember that starting a business in Scotts Valley has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Scotts Valley than others. Make sure you fully understand Scotts Valley demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Scotts Valley, California Demographic Information
Scotts Valley has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Scotts Valley demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Scotts Valley.
Businesses
As a new Scotts Valley entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Scotts Valley 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
Have You Considered Franchising?
Visit the business district of Scotts Valley and you'll see that franchises make up a large percentage of local businesses. Is it perhaps smarter to franchise a business instead of doing it from scratch.
We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to investigate buying a franchise. We have many articles on franchises, such as Credit and Franchise Purchasing. Gain a solid understanding of franchising by scanning all of our Articles on Franchising.
To learn about specific franchise opportunities, check out our Franchise Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include The Haagen-Dazs Shoppe Company, Inc. and Execustay. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Home Inspection Franchises and Print and Sign Franchises.
Note on Scotts Valley Franchise Opportunities: You will need to contact franchisors directly to see if their franchises are available in Scotts Valley.
Company Formation in Scotts Valley, California
It's very important that you are forming a legal entity that operates independently from you. Doing so will shield you from personal liability for business debts and obligations.
When forming a company, you will pick from many company types, such as a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.
Incorporating is a very common way to legally create a business entity. 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, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in California. In fact, you are allowed to incorporate in the state of your choosing. 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 Subchapter S Corporations. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. On a final note, since you will be starting a business in Scotts Valley, California, our web page covering Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
Having a business plan is vital in laying a solid foundation for your business success. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Not having a business plan makes you more prone to becoming a business failure statistic.
If you want more information on writing business plans, we recommend reading Business Plan Mistakes. You should also take advantage of free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in California.
Raising Money for Your New Venture
Raising money to fund your new Scotts Valley business is not an easy task. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising money, such as Getting a Small Business Loan.
For Scotts Valley 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.
Bring in Revenues
Do you know how to sell? In order to attract customers to your new Scotts Valley business, you need to focus on sales.
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.
Landing Big Customers is a good article to read, one of dozens in the Selling for Entrepreneurs section of our site.
Moving Forward
As an entrepreneur in Scotts Valley, 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 Scotts Valley businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Scotts Valley, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Scotts Valley, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Scotts Valley.
- Resources for Scotts Valley, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Scotts Valley 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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