As Lake Saint Louis and Wentzville Patch sites merge, we continue with our series on how to start a small business in the area. This week, we’re catching up our Wentzville readers on the series.

Baby-Stepping to Small Business Ownership

So far, 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. We’ve covered business ownership options and tips on how to determine the legal structure of your Lake Saint Louis business and tips for finding a business location in Lake Saint Louis. We offered expert advice on dealing with business taxes and last week, we shared tips and resources for a small business owner’s responsibilities as an employer.

Getting Advice from the Experts

We’ve been happy to feature two local experts each week, offering tips and advice for aspiring local business owners.

Lake Saint Louis entrepreneur and business consultant Richard Shoaf owns several locally-based businesses, including Compass Consultants and STCI.

Chris Coleman owns St. Louis-based FranNet, a company that helps would-be business owners choose and develop franchise businesses. FranNet's clients include several Lake Saint Louis area business owners, Coleman said.

Additional Resources for Wentzville Business Owners

While most of the resources we’ve shared in the series so far are also applicable to would-be Wentzville business owners, the Wentzville-specific resources are listed below.

• Wentzville Business Services and Economic Development Department—Get help preparing a business plan, securing financing, locating property or getting the right license for your business.
• Building in Wentzville—Find out what you need to know to build, remodel or demolish a building in town.
• Wentzville Tax Information—Get details on Wentzville-specific tax responsibilities.
• Marketing & Business Development—Larry Tucker is the city’s Marketing & Business manager. Reach him by phone at 636-327-5105  or by email at ecodev@wentzvillemo.org.
• Doing Business in Wentzville—Find out about permits and liscenses needed to run a business in Wentzville. Several different sections are available through the dropdown “Business Services” menu. You can also pick up a business license renewal form on the site when you need one.
• Wentzville Chamber of Commerce—Get support from other local business owners, work together to build a healthy economy in town and generally improve the quality of life in Wentzville.

Have you always dreamed of starting your own business? Subscribe to our daily newsletter so you won’t miss a single part of this ongoing series! Next week, we’ll offer tips and resources on securing financing for your business.  

Do you own your own business in Lake Saint Louis or Wentzville? We want to share your story with the community! Contact Patch reporter Angela Atkinson at angela.atkinson@patch.com to arrange for an interview.