Get To Know Your City Of San Diego
I have been living in San Diego for as long as I can remember, so I can be a little biased. I love this place it for its sandy beaches, blue sky overhead, and a relaxed vibe. But the city is not only about tourism and beach holidays. Thanks to the spirit of collaboration, plenty of qualified employees, and favorable conditions for entrepreneurship, San Diego is a good city to start a business.
The Strength Of San Diego’s Economy
The economy of the San Diego county region is going strong. We take pride in a relatively low unemployment rate while having above the average expected job growth. With a median household income of $66,000, we noticeably exceed the US average of $55,000. Finally, thanks to GDP of over $250 million, San Diego made it to the top 20 major cities in the United States.
Population In San Diego
Being so attractive economically and geographically-wise, San Diego draws in people like a magnet. Currently, the city population is over 1.4 million. When combined with the county, we boast a robust number of over 3.5 million. With so many people in our neck of the woods, small business from restaurants to boutique shops and auto mechanics has a chance to thrive on the city’s local traffic. As they say, the higher the population the more opportunities you have to appeal to these people.
America’s Finest City
As you probably know, San Diego is famous for lots of sunny days and great beaches. Year-around good weather tremendously helps businesses that rely on foot traffic. It means fewer less people are cooped up in their homes and more people are willing to go out.
The sunny weather also makes San Diego a hot spot for vacationers. Their spending help to boost our local economy.
Our Neighbors To The North
Our northern neighbors such as Los Angeles and San Francisco aid in the San Diego economy both directly and indirectly. Certain areas in these major metropolitan cities are very wealthy. When visiting San Diego, cash-rich Northern Californians spend their money and help our businesses grow.
Since housing and cost of doing business within Los Angeles and San Francisco areas are higher than that of San Diego, business owners often consider our city as a good destination for moving and expanding. Along with their offices, these companies bring in high-wage job opportunities.
The example of a large-scale business that migrated to San Diego is Fitbit. Our beautiful weather fits extremely well with their fitness and health-related products. For them, our coastal city became an untapped resource of high-tech manpower. As a bonus, they managed to considerably reduce business costs.
San Diego’s Thriving Business Industries
There are many industries San Diego shines in. These include tourism, military, biotech, cleantech, healthcare, cannabis, and many others.
It does not mean that if you decide to start a business outside of these categories it’ll be doomed to fail. However, you should think realistically when picking your industry. You will definitely fall short if you want to open a snow shoveling or plowing company in San Diego. You will be out of business before you even start. Just do your homework and see which activities are likely to be successful in San Diego and which ones won’t resonate with our residents.
At the same time, you should keep in mind that there are lots of over-saturated industries (brewing, for example) with severe competition. Before you enter such markets, make sure there are enough of local people to support your business, especially if you rely on foot traffic. Remember, up to 50% of new businesses fail within the first years, so you have to choose your industry wisely.
The Size Of The Employee Pool
San Diego is one of the largest cities in the United States. As an employer, you can benefit from diverse age groups ranging from teens and college graduates to the semi-retired. San Diego has multiple colleges and universities giving you ample opportunities to find qualified staff for your business. On top of that, you can take advantage of competent freelancers or remote workers based in our beautiful city.
Not Always Sunny In San Diego
There are many bright sides in running a business in San Diego. However, we have our blots on the landscape, too. I want to be forthright and explain what obstacles companies might come across when moving or opening a business here.
As a business owner, you’ll have to deal with significant costs of employee wages, taxes, building expenses, health insurance, gas, electricity, and more.
- Employees Wages: California is in the top-3 states with the highest minimum wage amount. To pay these generous wages, you’ll have to raise the costs on products and services. As a result, everything becomes more expensive for your customers.
- California Taxes: They say that nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes. This couldn’t be more right in California. We pay the highest combined income tax and sales tax in the nation. Not to mention the special taxes for items such as gasoline.
- Leasing or Purchasing Building Space: Renting or buying business property is very expensive in San Diego. You can try and find better rates farther outside the county but the cost is still relatively high to other cities throughout the United States.
- Health Insurance: Many businesses are required to provide health insurance for their full-time employees. Along with that, smaller business, even though they don’t fit into this mandate, still offer insurance to be competitive with other companies when hiring people.
- Utility Cost: The city has one major Gas and Electric supplier, SDGE. It goes without saying that it is never in the consumers’ best interest to allow a monopoly within utility services. No-competition situation comes at a cost for us. Our prices are often higher than in other parts of California. So, if you are starting a business in San Diego, you can expect to pay more for your utilities.
Why Choose San Diego
The city of San Diego has many redeeming qualities. At the same time, we couldn’t avoid downsides, too. I pinpointed some of those to give you a realistic view of what you will be up against if opening a business in San Diego. Not to scare you off!
I chose to start my small business of Local Dudes Marketing in San Diego. To begin with, I am a native who loves this beautiful city. With my knowledge and expertise, I can do so much to help the local community develop and thrive. That’s why the main focus of my business is companies in San Diego, especially small businesses seeking professional digital marketing assistance at a reasonable cost.
Need Help Marketing Your Company?
As mentioned above, Local Dudes’ goal is to help small to medium-size businesses within the county of San Diego. Being a small business ourselves, we can empathize with you. We realize the struggles and hardships small-scale companies face every day.
If you are looking for a San Diego Small business marketing company to be on the same page, Local Dudes Marketing is ready to handle your digital marketing needs. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered From local SEO, and PPC Management services Call us today, and we promise you will be glad that you did.
