Thursday, April 19, 2012
"Hazelwood Patch" rounds up tips and resources for finding a business location in town.
Welcome back to our series on how to start a small business in Hazelwood. This week, we're offering tips and resources on how to choose the ideal Hazelwood location for your business. Last week’s experts, David Cox, Richard Shoaf and Chris Coleman, are back with more tips for potential small business owners. Finding your spot Finding your ideal location will depend on a number of factors; most importantly, the type of business you’re running. “Any realtor will tell you location, location, location and this is very true,” Shoaf said. “Your location will become part of your brand and with some industries this can be critical.” You’ll need to ask yourself a few questions before making a final decision, according to the Small Business …
Thursday, April 12, 2012
"Hazelwood Patch" rounds up tips and resources on finding free and low-cost business training for aspiring small business owners.
The City of Hazelwood is “open for business,” according to its economic development department. “We’re ready, willing, and most importantly, able to support companies both large and small,” says the city’s website. “When we say that we’re business-friendly, we mean it.” If you’ve been following our series on how to start a small business in Hazelwood, you know that we’ve discussed ideas for choosing a business concept, including the development of unique business ideas and tips and suggestions for franchise opportunities. We’ve also discussed writing a business plan. This week, we’re spotlighting free and low-cost business training opportunities for Hazelwood small business owners. To get some guidance on where to find the best free and …
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Last week we discussed different types of legal business structures. In Part 2, 'Hazelwood Patch' gets advice from local experts.
As we continue our series on how to start a small business in Hazelwood, we're back this week with part 2 of a discussion on different types of business ownership options and tips on how to determine the legal structure of your business with expert advice. See Part 1: Ownership Options and Legal Structures for Small Business Owners in Hazelwood Advice from the Experts “Questions on how to incorporate your specific business would be best answered by someone such as a CPA or attorney,” said David Cox, the City of Hazelwood’s economic developer, adding that he recommends Harold Voss, CPA, who has an office on Howdershell in Hazelwood. FranNet owner Chris Coleman said that each type of business ownership has its pros and cons. “If you don’t …
Friday, March 30, 2012
In Part 1, "Hazelwood Patch" will discuss different types of legal business structures. Next week we get advice from local experts.
As we continue our series on how to start a small business in Hazelwood, we're back this week with a discussion on different types of business ownership options and tips on how to determine the legal structure of your business. We'll continue the discussion next week in Part 2, where we'll get expert advice. In case you’ve missed previous editions of our small business series, we have shared ideas for choosing a business concept, including the development of unique business ideas and tips and suggestions for franchise opportunities. We’ve also discussed how to write business plans and given tips and ideas on ways to find free and low-cost business training opportunities. FranNet owner Chris Coleman is back this week sharing tips from both …
Friday, March 16, 2012
"Hazelwood Patch" rounds up resources on writing business plans and shares tips from two Hazelwood business owners.
Are you thinking about starting a small business in Hazelwood? The city is already home to more than 1,000 successful businesses, and its proximity to Lambert St. Louis International Airport and major highways makes it ideal place to start a business venture, according to David Cox, economic developer for the City of Hazelwood. Cox said it's important to write your business plan early in the process. "I see a lot of projects where there is no plan until late and it’s harder to start the business," he said. Let’s get planning! If you’re considering opening a business in Hazelwood, we hope you’re following our small business series. So far, we’ve covered the concept phase of starting your own business, including tips on choosing an original…
Friday, March 9, 2012
'Hazelwood Patch' offers inspiration and advice from nine local small business owners on how they decided on their own business concepts.
When you’re considering starting a small business, the first step is to decide exactly what you want your business to be--to develop a business concept. Whether you choose to go the potentially safer route and open a franchise or you choose to think outside the box and open a unique business, the first thing you need is a good idea. Since we discussed buying a franchise last week, we’re going to focus on coming up with your own original business idea. We’re taking a little inspiration from some Hazelwood business owners who shared the different ways they were inspired to start their own businesses. Filling a Need Monica Black, owner of Etiquette Inclusion, told Hazelwood Patch that the reason she opened her business was simple: people in …
Friday, March 2, 2012
"Hazelwood Patch" talks to economic developer David Cox to get the inside scoop on opening a franchise in town.
Have you ever thought of opening your own business? Hazelwood is home to more than 1,000 business, and city officials say they have a great deal of experience in both dealing with various industries and helping residents to grow all different types of businesses. The first step in building your business is to decide exactly what you want to do—to choose or create your own business idea. Although this seems pretty obvious, many people know that they want to be entrepreneurs, but they don’t know exactly how they want to go about doing that. The good news is that you’ve got plenty of options. This week, we’re discussing franchise opportunites, and next week, we’ll discuss original concepts you design yourself. Considering Buying a Franchise? …
Thursday, February 9, 2012
"Hazelwood Patch" expands its small business feature offering step-by-step guidelines for starting your own business in Hazelwood.
If you’ve ever considered starting a small business, you might be doing yourself and the Hazelwood community a favor. How can opening a small business help you? While most small businesses don't become overnight successes, hard work and careful planning combined with a great idea can lead to serious financial success. Plus, opening your own business gives you an opportunity to do something you want to do. You can follow your passion, provide a service or product that the community needs--and you can be your own boss. How can opening a small business help the Hazelwood community? In addition to simply providing a new product or service for the community, small businesses are good for the economy. Small businesses make up 99.7 percent of all…
Desiree Young
9:54 am on Friday, April 20, 2012
I've always wanted to open a day care for infants only, but I'm afraid of the startup costs and associated capital. more ›