Starting a Small Business in Lake Saint Louis: Finding a Location

Welcome back to our series on .

This week, we're offering tips and resources on how to choose the ideal Lake Saint Louis location for your business.

Last week’s experts, and , are back with more tips for potential small business owners.

Finding your spot

As Lake Saint Louis Mayor said in a letter to potential Lake Saint Louis business owners, the city has always been a great place to live, but now it’s a great place to do business as well.  

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 Association (SBA).

• Do your customers come to you?
• Do you have to go to your customers?
• Do you have employees?
• Do you manufacture products for distribution?

The SBA points out that if your business depends on pedestrian or drive-by traffic, you will do well to find a location in a popular retail area, such as a mall or strip mall. This will allow you to place attention-grabbing signs that will draw your customers in.

If your customers are more likely to seek you out, the SBA notes, you don’t need a retail space, but you should find a space that’s easy to find and close to major roads and more populated areas.

If you’re running a business in which you go to your customers or you deal with them primarily online, you could save money and time by establishing a home-based business instead.

Tips from our experts

“You always need about 25% more space than you think you can do without,” Shoaf said. “And with the ability to do so much work vertically, you can even consider shared business spaces depending on your profession. “

He said he recommends Jason Jacobs, an agent with Schneider Real Estate, to his local clients.

“They have been a great help to us with our companies,” he added.

Coleman suggests that potential business owners first check out the area with the economic development department.

“Verify by demographics that your business can be supported,” he said.

Coleman also recommends getting involved with the Chamber of Commerce and connecting with other business owners outside the Lake Saint Louis area.

“Talk to others that have gone before you and get their insights on their success and struggles,” he said.  “You may have to get outside the Lake Saint Louis area for competition reasons to get these answers in some cases.”

Lake Saint Louis Resources

• Lake Saint Louis Department of Economic Development
• Current Available Properties for Businesses
• Lake Saint Louis Demographics
• Lake Saint Louis Businesses Brochure (PDF)

In Case You Missed It

In case you’ve missed previous editions of our small business series, we have shared ideas for choosing a business concept, including the and .

We’ve also discussed and given tips and ideas on ways to find . Last week, we discussed .

About the Experts

owns several locally-based businesses, including and .

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.

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 for getting your business name registered.

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