St. Louis Park recognizes that businesses are essential for a strong local economy. Below are internal city resources and external resources and assistance to help businesses succeed.  

• Small business resources
• Manufacturing business resources
• BIPOC-owned business resources
• Women-owned business resources
• Workforce resources

General business resources

• Business Connection – The Minneapolis Regional Chamber hosts bi-monthly Business Connections meetings on the first Thursday of every other month for businesses to connect, learn and grow from one another. For more information, visit SLP Business Connections or contact Amy Sicard at asicard@mplschamber.com for more details or to be a featured speaker. 

• Elevate Hennepin is designed to support businesses of all sizes in their efforts to grow, create jobs and evolve. Through the program, Hennepin County businesses can access no-cost advising, find business events, and identify local, state and federal business-support resources. Businesses can receive up to 25 hours of consulting from each advisor in a variety of topics.

• GreaterMSP — A regional economic development agency that promotes job creation, provides regional marketing and assists in business expansion and recruitment.
   
• Minneapolis Regional Chamber — Works to improve the business environment and provides networking and professional development services.

• Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) — Small Business Hub
  One-stop-shop for all of DEED's resources for small business including financing, starting a business, resource guide and expansion assistance. 

• NextStage - The city’s small business support program offers free, one-on-one, confidential business consulting to help entrepreneurs gain access to technical assistance and financing options. Contact Hiromi Yokoi, business advisor, at hiromi@nextstagemn.org, or 612.331.0210 to schedule a meeting to discuss your business venture. 

•  Small Business Development Center, University of St. Thomas — Two programs are offered with the first, a self-paced course developed in partnership with the Opus College of Business and the SBDC, designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs test their business idea, write a business plan, assess risk, and prepare for legal, financial, and ethical operations. The second program is the Community Entrepreneurship Program, a 10-month, hands-on initiative consisting of a six-week business training bootcamp, personalized mentorship, consulting, resource connections, micro-grant, and networking to help launch or grow a business.
  
  
• SCORE — Provides free and confidential advice to entrepreneurs and small business owners in every industry.

Financing resources

The City of St. Louis Park is committed to assisting the establishment, growth and expansion of local businesses. Visit the financing resources page for more info.