Starting a business in any city is challenging. But few benefit from the same entrepreneurial buzz as San Francisco. Home to the tech startups and venture capitalists of Silicon Valley, San Francisco and its surrounding regions are among the most business-intensive in the country. From a personal perspective, finding the right people is easier in San Francisco than many other cities, and it is a truly inspirational place to start and grow your business.

Obviously, the idea comes first. No business ever started without some kind of idea, and the planning and preparation phases are instrumental to your overall business potential. But beyond developing and refining the idea, you also need to think about where you will base your business in San Francisco. Finding an office is the first step, and one that can be the making or breaking of a fledgling business. Getting the right space is essential to your business, both as a base for operations and as a workplace for your new staff.

Office location has a number of knock-on effects on how your business performs. From a practical perspective, having ample space and seating to house your business now and in its growth phase is essential. There is no point searching for an office if you have to move out in one year’s time – try to look for an office facility that can expand and support your business as it grows.

Location is also centrally important when it comes to drawing in staff. If you are operating a tech business, for instance, you want to ideally get as close as possible to the San Francisco Bay area. This part of the world is a hub for creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, and most of those who are searching for work in the industry will be within commuting distance of this part of California.

Once you have chosen your office, office furniture San Francisco style is next on the agenda. The high-tech startups and software businesses tend to choose more modern, minimalist furniture that creates a certain feeling of spaciousness in their offices. For those who run businesses with a little less free spirit, there are still options available in San Francisco that offer more standard fare.

Kitting out your office can be a costly step, but an essential one for getting any business off the ground. When you are ready to house your workforce, the real challenge begins. To get any business running, you need to find the business, or the clients, that will fund the operation. For most, this is a lifelong challenge. While businesses will grow and develop, the number one objective will always be generating revenue. The sooner your new business gets started working on this, the better.

San Francisco is a great place to start a business. There is so much activity, especially around the Bay area, that entrepreneurs flock from all over the world to set up shop in California. But while the environment may be distinct, many of the same challenges facing business startups in SF apply to those trading in other parts of the country.