Missouri Business Startup Guides
Start a Business in Saint Louis, Missouri
Are you starting a business in Saint Louis, Missouri? This article discusses the most important things to consider when opening a business in Saint Louis.
Do You Have Entrepreneurial Drive and Passion?
Most new ventures don't make it, in part because the founder did not have the perseverance and abilities that are necessary to succeed. So, before you start your business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.
Here are three things we recommend you do before you fully commit to starting a new business of your own.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs in Saint Louis. Get their candid feedback on what it takes to start a successful business.
- We recommend reading Should You Become an Entrepreneur?. For aspiring new entrepreneurs, it's a must read article.
- Have a candid conversation with friends and family. A support network of family and friends can be a great sounding board for good advice before you decide for sure to go into business.
What Business to Start
An important decision is what kind of business you want to start. We recommend that you read Business Ideas That Don't Make Sense.
For in-depth how-to guides on how to start specific businesses, browse our Good Businesses to Start section of our site. For example, you might be interested in our Starting a Dance Club guide or our Starting a Tatoo Parlor guide.
Don't forget that you are starting a business in Saint Louis. Think about what needs are currently being underserved in Saint Louis. A critical consideration is whether Saint Louis demographics mesh well with your startup concept.
Saint Louis, Missouri Demographic Information
Saint Louis has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.
To give you a better feel for Saint Louis demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Saint Louis.
Businesses
As a new Saint Louis entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Saint Louis for each business category. By looking at this chart, you can get a general sense for how much competition there is in the business niche that you are pursuing.
Businesses
Have You Considered Buying an Existing Saint Louis Business?
We've created a helpful website page for those who want to Buy a Business in Missouri. Follow that link and you can review several good businesses for sale in Saint Louis.
If you are serious about buying a business, you may want to read this article: Hold Harmless Agreements When Buying Businesses.
Choosing a Business Name
A big decision when starting a company is choosing a company name. Believe it or not, choosing a good company name can be a big contributor to your business success.
We strongly advocate that you make sure the ".com" domain name is available for your company name. Every business needs a strong Web presence these days, and having a non ".com" domain means somebody else may outrank you in the search results for your own company name.
For other considerations regarding naming a company, we recommend this article: Branding Advice.
There's one other important factor when naming a business. Since you are planning on starting a business in Saint Louis, it's imperative that you check now that no other Missouri company is using the business name you want to use.
Do You Need a Business Plan?
A business plan is vital to the health of your new business. Indeed, a business plan describes what you plan to do with the business and how you plan to do it. Starting a business without a business plan is a recipe for disaster.
To learn more about business plans, read Business Plan Contests. A great resource for business planning assistance is the free business counselors available to you through your local SCORE chapter in Missouri.
Now It's Up To You
Most new Saint Louis businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.
Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.
We are here to help Saint Louis businesses to be successful. We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Saint Louis entrepreneur who is just getting started or you are already up and running with your new venture.
More Entrepreneurial Resources for Starting a Business in Saint Louis, Missouri
Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Saint Louis.
- Resources for Saint Louis, Missouri Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Saint Louis entrepreneurs.
- Missouri Entrepreneurial Resources - We've gathered state-level entrepreneurial resources to help new entrepreneurs who are based in Missouri.
- Missouri Small Business Development Center - Missouri Small Business Development Center business specialists are uniquely qualified to help small businesses get started, develop and thrive.
Starting-a-Business Guides for Other Cities in Missouri
Starting a Business in Saint Joseph
Starting a Business in Saint Peters
Browse All Business Startup Guides for Missouri
Starting a Business Guides for Other States
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