San Luis Obispo is a community of diverse businesses.

Businesses that choose to locate in San Luis Obispo enjoy a critical edge, in part because their values match up with San Luis Obispo's greatest resources – its strong and diverse base of existing companies and talented, hardworking and creative proprietors. This coupled with a highly educated and creative workforce truly sets San Luis Obispo apart. For these reasons, the City of San Luis Obispo actively welcomes and encourages all budding entrepreneurs to take a serious look at SLO as an ideal home base.

Among the first steps to starting a business are deciding upon a business structure, finding the right location, business registration and deciding upon (and protecting) your business’ name. Learn about the City’s business license and tax program, permits and licenses and view a map of the City's zoning.

And, don't forget, there are numerous organizations in San Luis Obispo who are here to help you, every step of the way. (Check our resources page.)