California Business Startup Guides
Starting a Business in Westwood, California
Thinking about starting a business in Westwood, California? This step-by-step guide walks you through the major decisions you should consider before opening a new business in Westwood.
Are You Sure You Want to Do This?
Before you get too far along in the process, assess your entrepreneurial instincts and capabilities.
To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:
- Speak with other entrepreneurs in Westwood. Ask them candidly what it's like to run a business.
- You should read Business Failure. It's a good read for those who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur.
- Involve a spouse, family member or trusted friend in the decision. The people who know you best are often in the best position to tell you bluntly whether you will be a good entrepreneur.
What Business to Start
Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. If you are struggling with what type of business to start, read Good Business Ideas.
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 Opening an Apartment Rental Agency guide or our Opening a Tourist Homes Business guide.
Always keep in mind that your new startup will be located in Westwood. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Westwood. Don't forget to review Westwood demographics to see if there's a market for what you want to sell.
Westwood, California Demographic Information
Westwood has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Westwood demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Westwood.
Businesses
As a new Westwood entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Westwood 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 Buying an Existing Westwood Business?
If you have some capital to play with, you may want to Buy a Business in California. Follow that link and you may find several good businesses for sale in Westwood.
For anybody who wants to buy a business, we recommend reading this useful article: How to Buy a Business.
Naming the Company
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
Before you decide on a company name, run it by some prospective customers and see what they think. If they don't like it, it's probably a good idea to go back to the drawing board.
Numerous company naming issues are discussed in more detail in this article: Naming a Business.
As a final piece of advice, remember that because you are opening a business in Westwood, it's very important that you make sure no California company has already registered the company name you have selected.
Don't Skip the Business Plan
A business plan is essential to the health of your new business. Simply put, your business plan is your game plan for how you hope to grow your business. Not having a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
Before you start writing a business plan, we suggest you skim Free Business Plan Templates. You can also get free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in California.
Startup Financing Basics
Obtaining startup financing for your Westwood business is not an easy task. In fact, financing your new business may be the hardest challenge you ever face.
Take advantage of our many articles on raising capital, such as 504 Loans.
For Westwood entrepreneurs who need startup capital, check out our List of California Angel Investors and our List of California Venture Capital Firms.
Next Steps
You have a dream -- starting a business in Westwood. To achieve your dream, you have to persevere, even when the odds are against you.
From this point on, you control your own destiny.
We are here to help Westwood businesses to be successful. We believe entrepreneurship is an amazing engine for job creation in Westwood, neighborhood development and overall economic health.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Westwood, California
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Westwood.
- Resources for Westwood, California Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Westwood 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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