Starting a Business in San Antonio
by Amy Collett
When starting a business, choosing a location is a major part of strategic business planning. Location has a significant impact on the success or failure of your business. Finding a City that ticks all the right boxes, which include a favorable business climate, a number of growth industries, and strategic geographic location, can be a challenge. New York and Silicon Valley are no longer the obvious choices for launching a startup.
San Antonio, the seventh-largest city in the nation, has been christened “America’s next boomtown.” This business-friendly, culturally diverse city in southern Texas is home to young talent, new entrepreneurs, and several fortune 500 companies.
What is San Antonio’s appeal?
Over the past two decades, San Antonio has proved its resilience and capacity for growth. The city’s economy has remained robust through national economic downturns, thanks in part to its pillars of education, healthcare, and military spending.
High net immigration from other states has contributed to a growing community of highly educated, heavily bilingual workforce. Talent is readily available at a lower cost compared to other cities. When you throw in affordable housing and office space and a comparatively low cost of living, you get a city that is attractive for doing business.
There are many reasons to love San Antonio. If you are considering the city as a location for your business, here are some factors that should influence your decision:
Community support
Successful entrepreneurs will tell you that support from the community plays a significant role in business success. The people of San Antonio are very friendly. The pervasive friendliness could be because of the city’s support of the military or the professional sports teams, including the San Antonio Spurs.
The businesses that have already established their operations in San Antonio have adopted the friendly and collaborative culture of the locals. This collaboration is responsible for a growing arts industry and food scene in the city. Healthy competition has its place in entrepreneurship, but collaboration gets things done better.
Availability of affordable living spaces
Availability and affordability of living spaces lower the cost of living of employees, which drive down wages to affordable rates. The housing market in San Antonio is more affordable than the neighboring cities of Austin and Houston. The median home price is also lower than the national average.
Rentals are also quite affordable and readily available. There are currently 2,412 apartments for rent in San Antonio, TX. Look online to find available spaces. You can use a website’s filters to narrow down your search depending on your preferences.
Highly educated and skilled workforce
San Antonio boasts 31 higher education institutions that are focused on preparing young talents to meet the needs of the workforce. These institutions produce highly educated and skilled individuals. The city also has workforce development programs like the Just-In-Time training and Alamo Academies, which work in collaboration with industry partners to prepare talented people to meet the needs of the healthcare, information technology, aerospace, and manufacturing industries.
It’s a great place to live
A top-notch medical community, beautiful scenery, good food, and friendly neighborhoods make San Antonio an ideal place to put down roots. Launching your business in a city where you can enjoy living has its perks. The affordable cost of living and good schools also makes San Antonio ideal for entrepreneurs with families.
Launching a business in a city without considering all the aspects that make it an ideal location is a common mistake entrepreneurs make. To find the right location for your business, you need to understand the right qualities that suit its operations. The infrastructure that supports your daily operations, e.g., roads, electricity, and phone lines, should be available. Cost implications of the location and availability of sufficient numbers of local staff are also key concerns. You must also consider the livability of the city, especially if you have a family.
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Photo by Henry Becerra on Unsplash