California Business Startup Guides

Starting a Business in Marina del Rey, California

Thinking about starting a business in Marina del Rey, California? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Marina del Rey.

What Type of Business Should You Start?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To stir your creative juices on what kind of business to start, take a look at 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 How to Start a Korean Food Business guide or our Opening an Internet Monitoring Software Business guide.

Always keep in mind that you are starting a business in Marina del Rey. Some businesses will do better in Marina del Rey than others. Make sure you fully understand Marina del Rey demographics before you lock in on your business idea.

Marina del Rey, California Demographic Information

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

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

Business Size
# of
Businesses
1-4 Employees
2067
5-9 Employees
459
10-19 Employees
342
20-49 Employees
276
50-99 Employees
90
100-249 Employees
39
250-499 Employees
21
500-999 Employees
3
1000+ Employees
0
All Marina del Rey Businesses
3297

As a new Marina del Rey entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Marina del Rey 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
Advertising Agencies
13
Architectural Services
21
Art Dealers
1
Baked Goods Stores
2
Beauty Salons
7
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
3
Boat Building
1
Book Stores
1
Broadwoven Fabric Mills
1
Cable and Other Program Distribution
2
Cafeterias
1
Camera and Photographic Supplies Stores
1
Canvas and Related Product Mills
1
Cemeteries and Crematories
1
Child Day Care Services
2
Clothing Accessories Stores
1
Commercial Lithographic Printing
2
Commercial Photography
4
Computer and Software Stores
2
Computer Facilities Management Services
3
Computer Systems Design Services
9
Consumer Lending
1
Convenience Stores
3
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
2
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
1
Couriers
1
Court Reporting and Stenotype Services
1
Credit Bureaus
1
Dance Companies
1
Deep Sea Passenger Transportation
1
Diagnostic Imaging Centers
1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers
1
Direct Mail Advertising
2
Display Advertising
1
Document Preparation Services
3
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)
4
Drywall and Insulation Contractors
1
Educational Support Services
1
Electrical Contractors
5
Electronic Shopping
2
Elementary and Secondary Schools
1
Engineering Services
6
Family Clothing Stores
3
Fine Arts Schools
1
Finfish Fishing
2
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers
11
Florists
1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores
4
Food Service Contractors
3
Full-Service Restaurants
44
General Automotive Repair
3
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
1
General Rental Centers
1
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores
7
Grantmaking Foundations
1
Graphic Design Services
7
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores
3
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers
1
Home Health Care Services
1
Industrial Design Services
3
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages
14
Interior Design Services
6
Internet Publishing and Broadcasting
3
Investigation Services
4
Investment Advice
2
Janitorial Services
5
Jewelry Stores
2
Land Subdivision
2
Landscape Architectural Services
2
Landscaping Services
5
Lessors of Other Real Estate Property
1
Limited-Service Restaurants
21
Limousine Service
1
Local Messengers and Local Delivery
1
Mail-Order Houses
1
Marinas
6
Marketing Consulting Services
10
Medical Laboratories
1
Men's Clothing Stores
2
Miscellaneous Intermediation
1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
3
Motion Picture and Video Production
31
Motor Vehicle Towing
1
Motorcycle Dealers
2
Musical Groups and Artists
1
Musical Instrument and Supplies Stores
1
Nail Salons
1
New Car Dealers
3
New Housing Operative Builders
2
News Syndicates
1
Newspaper Publishers
1
Nursing Care Facilities
2
Office Administrative Services
14
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores
1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants
11
Offices of Chiropractors
4
Offices of Dentists
20
Offices of Lawyers
40
Offices of Other Holding Companies
4
Offices of Podiatrists
1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers
2
One-Hour Photofinishing
1
Open-End Investment Funds
1
Optical Goods Stores
4
Parking Lots and Garages
4
Payroll Services
3
Pen and Mechanical Pencil Manufacturing
1
Periodical Publishers
1
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
2
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
1
Pharmacies and Drug Stores
2
Photography Studios, Portrait
3
Private Mail Centers
2
Professional Employer Organizations
1
Professional Organizations
2
Public Relations Agencies
10
Real Estate Credit
4
Remediation Services
1
Repossession Services
1
Residential Remodelers
6
Retail Bakeries
1
Roofing Contractors
1
Satellite Telecommunications
1
Savings Institutions
4
Securities Brokerage
2
Security Guards and Patrol Services
2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars
13
Software Publishers
4
Sporting Goods Stores
3
Sports and Recreation Instruction
2
Tax Preparation Services
2
Telecommunications Resellers
1
Telemarketing Bureaus
1
Temporary Help Services
4
Testing Laboratories
1
Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters
1
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
2
Tobacco Stores
1
Travel Agencies
4
Used Household and Office Goods Moving
1
Veterinary Services
3
Video Tape and Disc Rental
2
Vocational Rehabilitation Services
1
Voluntary Health Organizations
1
Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers
10
Window Treatment Stores
1

Selecting a Name For Your Startup

A good company name can give a big boost to a new startup. It might seem like an easy thing to do, but there are many things to consider when naming a business.

Company names need to be easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember.

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

There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are opening a business in Marina del Rey, it's imperative that you check now that no other California company is using the business name you want to use.

Getting Money to Start a Business

Getting your Marina del Rey business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. Bootstrapping, which means growing the business without outside funding, is the best alternative, but that's not a viable option for many startup plans.

The good news is this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Business Incubators.

For Marina del Rey entrepreneurs who want to raise money for a new venture, check out our List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.

Getting the Word Out About Your New Business

Whether your goal is to attract Marina del Rey customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

We have some helpful resources on this site for entrepreneurs who are working on marketing plans. Local Search 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 a must if you want your new Marina del Rey 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.

Closing Sales 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.

How to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Abilities

The best entrepreneurs know that they don't know everything.

Given that you are starting a business in Marina del Rey, California, you will want to take advantage of the many programs available at nearby California universities, colleges and community colleges. It's also wise to see if there are any Marina del Rey networking organizations.

What's Next?

Most new Marina del Rey businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

From this point on, you control your own destiny.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Marina del Rey and throughout the United States . We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Marina del Rey, neighborhood development and overall economic health.

More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Marina del Rey, California

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

Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in California

Starting a Business in March ARB
Starting a Business in Mariposa

Browse All Business Startup Guides for California
Starting a Business Guides for Other States

 

 

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