Warmwater:
I dont believe your business has to be in CA.
for example: A Texas contractor may be awarded a job in CA, this does not mean they have to open an office in CA, they can apply for a license no matter where in the US they are located.
if you do a license search at
www.cslb.ca.gov you will see many contractors do not have a california address.
Here is an example:
http://www2.cslb.ca.gov/CSLB_LIBRARY/License+Detail.asp?LicNum=717695 -mike