California Business Startup Guides

Opening a Business in Sun Valley, California

Contemplating starting a business in Sun Valley, California? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Sun Valley.

Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?

Before you get too far along in the process, consider 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 Sun Valley. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
  • Peruse Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. This is one of our more popular articles for folks who want to go into business for themselves.
  • Seek the advice of somebody who knows you well. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.

Choosing the Right Company to Start

There are many businesses that you can start. How do you know which type of business is right for you? If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read How to Evaluate a Business Idea.

For step-by-step instructions on starting a variety of business types, visit the Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.

Remember that starting a business in Sun Valley has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Sun Valley than others. Don't forget to review Sun Valley demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.

Sun Valley, California Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
9340
5-9 Employees
3545
10-19 Employees
2770
20-49 Employees
2475
50-99 Employees
870
100-249 Employees
405
250-499 Employees
60
500-999 Employees
30
1000+ Employees
0
All Sun Valley Businesses
19495

As a new Sun Valley entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Sun 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.

Business Type
# of
Businesses
Adhesive Manufacturing
1
Advertising Agencies
1
Aircraft Manufacturing
1
Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting)
1
Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
1
Appliance Repair and Maintenance
1
Architectural Services
1
Automotive Glass Replacement Shops
6
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores
29
Automotive Transmission Repair
1
Beauty Salons
2
Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers
1
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
7
Book Publishers
1
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
2
Building Inspection Services
1
Business Associations
1
Cane Sugar Refining
1
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Car Washes
5
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
1
Caterers
2
Child Day Care Services
8
Civic and Social Organizations
3
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners
2
Commercial Bakeries
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
7
Commercial Photography
1
Commercial Screen Printing
3
Computer Systems Design Services
1
Concrete Block and Brick Manufacturing
2
Construction Sand and Gravel Mining
1
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
1
Convenience Stores
1
Copper Foundries (except Die-Casting)
1
Couriers
5
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Unions
1
Custom Computer Programming Services
2
Custom Roll Forming
1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Direct Mail Advertising
2
Direct Title Insurance Carriers
3
Display Advertising
1
Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing
1
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
6
Educational Support Services
3
Electrical Contractors
16
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
2
Employment Placement Agencies
2
Engineering Services
5
Exam Preparation and Tutoring
1
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
2
Facilities Support Services
2
Family Clothing Stores
2
Fertilizer (Mixing Only) Manufacturing
1
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finish Carpentry Contractors
5
Flooring Contractors
4
Florists
2
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
1
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing
1
Footwear Merchant Wholesalers
3
Formal Wear and Costume Rental
1
Fossil Fuel Electric Power Generation
1
Fresh and Frozen Seafood Processing
1
Fruit and Vegetable Markets
1
Full-Service Restaurants
16
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services
1
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers
3
Furniture Stores
1
General Automotive Repair
18
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
4
General Warehousing and Storage
3
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
1
Glass and Glazing Contractors
1
Glass Container Manufacturing
1
Graphic Design Services
5
Hand and Edge Tool Manufacturing
3
Hardware Manufacturing
1
Hardware Merchant Wholesalers
2
Hardware Stores
1
Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal
2
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
3
Home Centers
1
Home Health Care Services
3
Industrial Launderers
1
Industrial Mold Manufacturing
1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
3
Interior Design Services
1
Investment Advice
1
Iron and Steel Forging
1
Janitorial Services
8
Jewelry Stores
2
Land Subdivision
3
Landscape Architectural Services
1
Landscaping Services
9
Limited-Service Restaurants
20
Limousine Service
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores
1
Machine Shops
16
Mail-Order Houses
3
Marketing Consulting Services
3
Masonry Contractors
6
Meat Markets
1
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
1
Metal Heat Treating
3
Mobile Food Services
1
Motion Picture and Video Distribution
1
Motion Picture and Video Production
6
Motor Vehicle Towing
3
Musical Instrument Manufacturing
1
Nail Salons
5
New Car Dealers
2
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nonresidential Property Managers
2
Office Administrative Services
2
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
2
Offices of Dentists
8
Offices of Lawyers
4
Offices of Optometrists
1
Offices of Other Holding Companies
3
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers
1
Outdoor Power Equipment Stores
1
Packaging and Labeling Services
3
Paint and Wallpaper Stores
1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors
4
Parking Lots and Garages
1
Payroll Services
1
Perishable Prepared Food Manufacturing
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
1
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
4
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
3
Photography Studios, Portrait
1
Plate Work Manufacturing
1
Polystyrene Foam Product Manufacturing
1
Portfolio Management
1
Powder Metallurgy Part Manufacturing
1
Power-Driven Handtool Manufacturing
1
Printing Ink Manufacturing
1
Private Mail Centers
1
Professional Organizations
1
Quick Printing
2
Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing
4
Real Estate Investment Trusts
1
Recreational Goods Rental
2
Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage
1
Remediation Services
1
Residential Property Managers
4
Residential Remodelers
6
Retail Bakeries
1
Reupholstery and Furniture Repair
2
Roofing Contractors
6
Sawmills
1
School and Employee Bus Transportation
1
Securities Brokerage
1
Security Guards and Patrol Services
1
Septic Tank and Related Services
1
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing
10
Shoe Stores
1
Site Preparation Contractors
11
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
3
Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing
1
Solid Waste Collection
5
Solid Waste Landfill
4
Special Needs Transportation
1
Sports and Recreation Instruction
1
Tax Preparation Services
3
Testing Laboratories
3
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Tile and Terrazzo Contractors
18
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers
2
Tire Dealers
4
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
1
Travel Agencies
2
Used Car Dealers
11
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
4
Used Merchandise Stores
4
Vending Machine Operators
2
Veterinary Services
5
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
10
Wired Telecommunications Carriers
1
Women's Clothing Stores
6
Wood Window and Door Manufacturing
1

Company Formation in Sun Valley, California

A critical step is ensuring that you form your business as a legal structure. Without a legal structure for the business, you can be held personally liable for the actions, debts and obligations of your company.

The entity you form can be a traditional C-corporation, a Limited Liability Company (LLC), or an S-corporation.

Incorporation 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, you don't necessarily have to incorporate in California. As it turns out, you can 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. We recommend you read some of the educational articles about company formation that are availabe on our site, such as Getting an EIN. You may also want to seek the advice of an attorney. Finally, if you are starting a business in Sun Valley, California, our information on Incorporating in California may be a useful resource if you decide to incorporate in California.

Don't Forget to Create a Business Plan

A business plan is vital in maximizing the prospects of your new company. Simply put, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Failure to write a business plan is a recipe for disaster.

Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Find Sample Business Plans Online. You can also get free counseling sessions provided by your local SCORE chapter in California.

Marketing Your New Business

Whether your goal is to attract Sun Valley customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, having an excellent marketing plan is fundamental to your successs.

You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. How to Write a Marketing Plan is a good read to get your marketing ideas flowing. That's just a sampling of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

Now It's Up To You

You have a dream -- starting a business in Sun Valley. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

This site is all about helping entrepreneurs in Sun Valley and elsewhere to achieve real success. We have a wealth of experience in business start-ups, financing, marketing, sales and more...and we've made all of our knowledge available to you.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Sun Valley, California

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

More Business Startup Guides for California

Starting a Business in Studio City
Starting a Business in Susanville

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