California Business Startup Guides
Opening a Business in Huntington Beach, California
Contemplating starting a business in Huntington Beach, California? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Huntington Beach.
Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?
Most startup ventures do not succeed, in part because the business owner did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
While entrepreneurship has become a popular career choice, we recommend you do the following before you take the plunge:
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Huntington Beach. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being 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. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.
What Type of Business Should You Start?
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Evaluating Your Idea.
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 Opening a Flower Growers & Shippers Business guide or our Starting a Roofing Service & Consultants Commercial & Industrial Business guide.
Don't forget that Huntington Beach is the place where you are starting a business. Some businesses will do better in Huntington Beach than others. Make sure you fully understand Huntington Beach demographics before you lock in on your business idea.
Huntington Beach, California Demographic Information
Huntington Beach has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Huntington Beach demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Huntington Beach.
Businesses
As a new Huntington Beach entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Huntington Beach 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?
As you drive around Huntington Beach, 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?
Our advice is to evaluate the possibility of your buying a franchise opportunity. We have many articles on franchises, such as How to Find Financing for Franchises. Get a thorough education on franchising by browsing all of our Articles on Franchising.
You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.
Sample franchise opportunities include Radisson Hotels & Resorts and A-Pro Home Inspection Services. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Flooring Franchises and Mexican Restaurant Franchises.
Note on Huntington Beach Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Huntington Beach, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.
Make Sure You Have a Business Plan
A business plan is critical to the health of your new business. 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 is a recipe for disaster.
If writing a business plan is on your to-do list, be sure to read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the face-to-face free consulting available from your local SCORE chapter in California.
Marketing Your New Venture
To grow your Huntington Beach business, you need a excellent marketing plan.
You can learn quite a bit about marketing on our site. Advertising on Buses discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. There are many more articles on marketing on our site. Visit our Small Business Marketing resource section to see them all.
Advancing Your Entrepreneurial Skills
The best entrepreneurs recognize that they don't know everything.
With your business being located in Huntington Beach, California, you will want to take advantage of the learning programs at local California educational institutions. It's also worthwhile to see if there are any Huntington Beach networking organizations.
What's Next?
Most new Huntington Beach businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
If you choose the right business and love what you do, you will greatly increase your odds of success.
Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Huntington Beach and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Huntington Beach 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 Huntington Beach, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Huntington Beach.
- Resources for Huntington Beach, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Huntington Beach 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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