How to Start a California Business: 13 Key Steps -

Are you looking to start a small business in California? Its always been an American dream to be able to own your own business . California been home of many startups whether they are a restaurant or a tech company. We have compiled 13 Key Steps regarding ” How to Start a California Business”

Contents

Choose Type of Business

It is important that you decide on what type of business you want to start. There are different requirements whether a business is a restaurant, a retail store or bookkeeping business.

Decide on Entity Type

Depending upon type of business and how much profit you may make you want to pick the right type of entity. You have many choices such as

You can Incorporate your business

C Corporation
S Corporation
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Sole Proprietorship
General Partnership.

We have many entity comparisons available on our website. You should read those and learn more before deciding which entity is best.

Decide a Business Name(DBA: Doing Business As)

Decide on a Business Name. Once you pick the name make sure you register fictitious business name at the county clerks office where you plan on conducting the business. For example, County Clerks office for Contra Costa County i is in Martinez.

File Your Business Entity with Secretary of State

Next step regarding how to start a California Business is filing your business with Secretary of State.

If you decided to incorporate your business instead of being a Sole Proprietorship, then you need to File your Business Entity with Secretary of State.

You can either do the incorporation yourself or hire a Company Like Rocket Lawyer to do it for you or Hire an Attorney.

You can Incorporate your business

C Corporation
S Corporation
Limited Liability Company (LLC)

This process can take anywhere from 3 days to 30 days depending upon how busy secretary of state is and if you pick a regular or an expedited option.

Pick a Physical Location & Sign Lease

If you plan on having a physical Location for your business, then you need to start looking for right location. Depending upon where you plan on operating business look for correct square footage i.e. 1000 Sq Feet or 2,000 Sq feet.

Make sure the zoning is correct for the type of business. What zoning means is certain areas of city and county only allows a certain types of business in certain areas.

Make sure you receive a copy of the lease and review it detail. If you prefer you can have a real estate or business attorney review the lease to make sure there is no clause in the lease that will hurt you financially later.

Tip: Don’t sign very long lease when you are starting a business. If business doesn’t work or you need to move your location, you don’t want to be tied in a long term lease.

Apply for County and City Licenses and Permits

You need to obtain appropriate County and City Licenses and Permits to legally operate your business.

Local laws such as Health Permits and fire inspections are essential for safety of public. Hence its critical that you check with your County and City to make sure you obtain all city licenses and county licenses.

Apply EIN & EDD Number

Once you receive your Articles back from Secretary of State then you can Apply EIN for your Entity. EIN(Employer Identification Number) is a Tax ID number for your business.

You can Apply EIN either online using this link

Or you can fill out SS4 and obtain EIN via IRS Fax or Phone.

You also need to apply EDD number. You need EDD number in order to process your payroll. This is tax id number for State of California. You can Apply EDD number Utilizing this Link.

Obtain Business Insurance

Check with an insurance agent who specializes in business insurance. You will need proper insurance to protect your business and your employees.

You need to look into getting:

Workers Compensation Insurance(For Employees)

Liability Insurance

Property Damage

Business Vehicle Insurance

Umbrella Insurance

Cyber Insurance

Open a Business Bank Account

Once you have your entity documents such as Articles of Incorporation, EIN number and organization Minutes, you can open a bank account.

Make sure you pick a bank that is business friendly and that doesn’t charge you arm and leg for depositing or withdrawing money.

Apply and Obtain Merchant Credit Card Service

most business accept credit card now. If you plan on accepting credit card with your business, you need ot check with your bank and make sure you apply for Merchant Credit Card Service so you can start accepting credit card. This is required whether you have physical location or online store.

Setup a Website and Start Marketing

Starting a business is not enough. You need to get the word out in the community. Setting up a website for your business and start marketing online is the best strategy for a small business startup.

You can have a “Grand Opening” banner on the property you just leased and start spreading the word via post cards, door hangers and though Facebook or Instagram marketing.

Hire & Train Employees

You need to determine if you need employees to run the business. If you do need employees then hire a payroll company or an accountant who can help you setup payroll for employees.

You need to have each employee fill out a W4 Form, I-9 form and employment Application and provide it to your payroll company.

Once you hire employees you need to start training them to make sure they learn to serve your customers. Employees when properly trained that help run a smooth business.

Schedule a Date for Grand Opening

Final Step in ” How to Start a California Business” Schedule a Date for Grand Opening.

It is important to plan a date for Grand Opening to make sure all your systems are working properly. We recommend you do a soft opening first where you invite friends and family’s and have them try our your business. For example, if you are starting a restaurant, its important to have your family and friends try out the food and give you feedback so you can tweak the service and or food to better suite the public.

Once you have determined the your employees are properly trained and everything is working properly then schedule a date of grand opening and start marketing. Invite Mayor, local chamber of commerce and other local business owners.

This is very critical to execute correctly as this will determine how fast you succeed.