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10 Easy Steps to Launch a Business
Thank you for your interest in registering a business
with the California Secretary of State’s ofce. The
Secretary of State supports California businesses
by registering business entities and processing mil-
lions of lings and records requests each year.
There are several key steps to launching a business
in the state of California. These steps will vary
according to the type of business you intend to
start and the county and city in which the business
will be located. Therefore, be sure to check specic
rules and regulations within the county and city in
which you want to conduct business, and any other
agency’s requirements regarding zoning, licens-
1. Prepare & Plan
ing, employment, permits and taxes. For more
information see #7, below – “Obtain Specialty
Licenses and Permits.” This document should
be used as a general tool to help you broadly
assess how to start a business in California, not
as a direct step-by-step guideline. In order to
maintain your business, there may be recurring
reporting, fees, taxes and lings that the busi-
ness must provide to state, local, and federal
agencies.
A “Starting a New Business Checklist” is provid-
ed at the end of this brochure to help you start
your new business.
Research: For any business, preparation and planning are critical for success.
You should conduct market research about potential competitors and to deter-
mine how much it will cost to start up and establish your business.
Business Plan: A business plan is the blueprint for your new venture. It maps out
the course of your business from the market research and analysis stages through
nancing, marketing, implementation and beyond. A well thought-out business
plan ensures that you have considered the issues necessary to be successful and
have anticipated how to handle potential difculties that may arise during the
course of starting and operating your business.
You are not alone. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA, sba.gov) provides
assistance for business planning at ofces throughout the state and at 144 Califor-
nia resource partner ofces. The SBA provides free access to a variety of informa-
tion designed to help entrepreneurs start and operate their business. In addition,
SCORE offers free consulting from volunteers with business experience to help
aspiring entrepreneurs with all aspects of their business. (SCORE, score.org).
Seek Professional Advice: You should consult private legal, nancial and ac-
counting professionals for specic advice related to your particular situation
before starting your business.
WWW.SOS.CA.GOV/BUSINESS-PROGRAMS/
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