Starting a Business in Hazelwood, Missouri

Contemplating starting a business in Hazelwood, Missouri? We walk you through the process of opening a business in Hazelwood.

Will You Be a Good Entrepreneur?

Most startup ventures fail, in part because the entrepreneur did not have the tenacity and/or the skills to succeed. So, before you open a business, consider all of the implications of being an entrepreneur.

To determine whether you have what it takes to run a business, we recommend these three steps to help you decide:

• Talk to other entrepreneurs in Hazelwood. They are usually very willing to share their insights on the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.
• 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. Others sometimes know you better than you know yourself.

What Business Are You Starting?

Choosing a business that is right for you is very important. To help you decide on a business type, we encourage you to read Evaluating Your Idea.

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 Opening a Range Hoods & Canopies Business guide or our Starting a Security Guard & Patrol Services Business guide.

Don't forget that starting a business in Hazelwood has some implications. Some businesses will do better in Hazelwood than others. Only by spending some time analyzing Hazelwood demographics can you decide if there will be strong demand for your business idea.

Hazelwood, Missouri Demographic Information

Hazelwood has an active business community that includes small businesses, mid-sized businesses and large businesses.

To give you a better feel for Hazelwood demographics for small businesses, we have tabulated the small business sizes, based on number of employees, for business in Hazelwood.

Business Size	# of Businesses
1-4 Employees	712
5-9 Employees	444
10-19 Employees	387
20-49 Employees	300
50-99 Employees	93
100-249 Employees	63
250-499 Employees	18
500-999 Employees	6
1000+ Employees	12
All Hazelwood Businesses	2035

As a new Hazelwood entrepreneur, you may also be interested in the table below. It shows how many businesses there are in Hazelwood 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.

Business Type	# of Businesses
Aluminum Foundries (except Die-Casting)	1
Amusement and Theme Parks	1
Apprenticeship Training	1
Architectural Services	2
Armored Car Services	1
Automotive Exhaust System Repair	1
Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores	2
Baked Goods Stores	1
Beauty Salons	4
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores	2
Boat Dealers	1
Book Publishers	1
Book Stores	2
Books Printing	1
Bottled Water Manufacturing	1
Bowling Centers	1
Car Washes	3
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services	1
Caterers	1
Child and Youth Services	1
Child Day Care Services	7
Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores	3
Civic and Social Organizations	4
Claims Adjusting	1
Clothing Accessories Stores	2
Coin-Operated Laundries and Drycleaners	1
Commercial Bakeries	1
Commercial Flexographic Printing	1
Commercial Lithographic Printing	2
Computer and Software Stores	1
Computer Facilities Management Services	1
Computer Systems Design Services	1
Consumer Lending	1
Convenience Stores	3
Couriers	4
Credit Unions	4
Custom Computer Programming Services	2
Dental Laboratories	1
Diet and Weight Reducing Centers	2
Directory and Mailing List Publishers	1
Display Advertising	1
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)	5
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	1
Elementary and Secondary Schools	1
Engineering Services	5
Environmental Consulting Services	1
Exam Preparation and Tutoring	1
Family Clothing Stores	13
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers	2
Floor Covering Stores	1
Flooring Contractors	1
Florists	2
Fluid Milk Manufacturing	1
Food (Health) Supplement Stores	2
Food Service Contractors	7
Freight Transportation Arrangement	6
Full-Service Restaurants	12
Funeral Homes and Funeral Services	1
Furniture Stores	5
General Automotive Repair	6
General Freight Trucking, Local	4
General Warehousing and Storage	6
Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Stores	4
Glass and Glazing Contractors	1
Hardware Stores	2
Heating Oil Dealers	1
Hobby, Toy, and Game Stores	3
Home Health Care Services	1
Household Appliance Stores	1
Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	13
Investment Advice	1
Janitorial Services	6
Jewelry Stores	5
Kidney Dialysis Centers	1
Landscaping Services	13
Limited-Service Restaurants	27
Limousine Service	3
Local Messengers and Local Delivery	1
Luggage and Leather Goods Stores	1
Machine Shops	4
Mail-Order Houses	1
Manifold Business Forms Printing	1
Marketing Consulting Services	1
Masonry Contractors	1
Media Buying Agencies	1
Men's Clothing Stores	5
Miscellaneous Intermediation	1
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	3
Motorcycle Dealers	1
Nail Salons	1
New Car Dealers	7
Nonresidential Property Managers	1
Office Administrative Services	1
Office Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	1
Office Supplies and Stationery Stores	1
Offices of Certified Public Accountants	3
Offices of Chiropractors	1
Offices of Dentists	13
Offices of Lawyers	3
Offices of Optometrists	1
Offices of Real Estate Appraisers	2
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers	1
Optical Goods Stores	1
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	3
Parking Lots and Garages	1
Passenger Car Rental	1
Payroll Services	1
Periodical Publishers	2
Pet and Pet Supplies Stores	2
Pharmacies and Drug Stores	2
Photography Studios, Portrait	2
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing	1
Political Organizations	1
Precision Turned Product Manufacturing	1
Professional Employer Organizations	1
Real Estate Credit	2
Recreational Vehicle Dealers	1
Residential Property Managers	3
Residential Remodelers	6
Roofing Contractors	1
Sales Financing	2
Securities Brokerage	1
Security Guards and Patrol Services	2
Sheet Metal Work Manufacturing	2
Shoe Stores	9
Sign Manufacturing	1
Site Preparation Contractors	2
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	4
Sporting Goods Stores	1
Tax Preparation Services	2
Telemarketing Bureaus	2
Temporary Help Services	1
Tire and Tube Merchant Wholesalers	1
Tobacco Stores	1
Tour Operators	1
Travel Agencies	3
Used Car Dealers	1
Used Household and Office Goods Moving	1
Used Merchandise Stores	2
Vending Machine Operators	3
Video Tape and Disc Rental	1
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	1
Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers	1
Wineries	1
Wired Telecommunications Carriers	4
Women's Clothing Stores	3

Is a Franchise Opportunity Right For You?

As you drive around Hazelwood, you may be surprised to see how many franchises there are in the area. Would going with a franchise be a good idea for you?

We advise the entrepreneurs we work with to consider franchising as an option. To help you learn more about franchising, we've gathered a ton of articles on franchising, including Buying a Franchise. Become a franchising expert of sorts by reading more of our Articles on Franchising.

You can find franchise opportunities by browsing our Franchise Opportunities Directory.

Representative franchise opportunities include Pro Golf Discount and Color-Glo International. Alternatively, you can browse franchise categories, such as Candy and Chocolate Franchises and IT Training Franchises.

Note on Hazelwood Franchise Opportunities: To find out if a franchise you are interested in is available in Hazelwood, you will need to get in direct contact with the franchisor.

Where to Get Money to Start a Company

Getting your Hazelwood business the capital it needs to succeed is very difficult due to the ongoing business credit crunch. To obtain business financing, you will need to hear a lot of rejections before you finally find a funding solution that works for you.

Fortunately, this site contains dozens of articles on raising money, including one we recommend entitled Business Incubators.

For Hazelwood entrepreneurs on the hunt for startup funding, we have assembled a List of Missouri Angel Investors and our List of Missouri Venture Capital Firms.

Marketing Your New Business

Whether your goal is to attract Hazelwood customers or you plan on selling elsewhere, you'll need to have a good marketing plan.

There are myriad resources on this site to help you with your marketing plan. Telemarketing Service Costs discusses marketing strategy and tactical marketing in a way that should get you thinking about how to creatively promote your business. That's just one of the many useful articles we have on Marketing a Small Business.

What's Next?

Most new Hazelwood businesses underestimate the number of challenges they will face.

Owning your own business will be a daunting task, but you can do it.

Our goal here is to promote the vitality and growth of small businesses in Hazelwood and throughout the United States . We want to be there for you to answer your business questions, whether you are a new Hazelwood 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 Hazelwood, Missouri

Here are more links that we believe will help you be successful in starting a business in Hazelwood.

• Resources for Hazelwood, Missouri Entrepreneurs - Browse a variety of resources we've collected to assist Hazelwood 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.
• Hazelwood, Missouri Newspaper Ad Rates - This is a nearly comprehensive list of advertising rates for Hazelwood, Missouri newspapers, including ad costs for newspapers serving the Hazelwood area.

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