Non-LDS Starting a Business in Utah (Salt Lake City, Provo: broker, house, water heater)

[ez2bfriend]

Hi,
It is so interesting to read about moving to Utah and how non-LDS families can find a home in Utah. Those mostly applied to being employed. How about a non-LDS starting a business in Utah (let's say Salt Lake area) with many business competitors being LDS? Anyone has an opinion whether such an endeavor would be a good idea at all? Thanks in advance for any opinions.

[trailrunner1516]

Salt Lake City, contrary to popular belief, is actually quite diverse. Like any other metropolitan area, industry has attracted people from all over the world. Salt Lake is only about 30% LDS. It’s rural Utah and Utah Valley (Provo, Orem) that are predominately LDS. If you are interested in starting a business in Salt Lake, I can’t imagine that you would have any unusual trouble. The only real difficulty is in obtaining liquor licenses.

[violone]

Actually Salt Lake City (the city itself, not the suburbs) is about as LDS (Mormon), per capita, as Las Vegas (including its suburbs...). It wouldn't be much different than trying to do business in most metropolitan cities.

[ez2bfriend]

Thank you Violone and Trailrunner. My worry was that almost all my competitors (and there are not too many of them in Salt Lake are and surroundings) are actually very active LDS religious, and they have near full control on that one particular business in this one market, either directly, or indirectly. I would be a competition, of course. So, I dunno if I should factor this. Probably I still should. Thank you guys. EZ

[coolcats]

What kind of business? I really don't think it would be an issue. When you walk into a business here, it's really impossible to know whether they are LDS or not? I can't tell you if my doctor, mechanic, or electrician are.

[thwrosdlton]

I would assume there is some sort of LDS business directory that each Church keeps just like the list of LDs homes that was talked about elsewhere on this forum.

It's not that anyone can tell if someone is LDS or not it's that members would probably look to the church for businesses run by other members before they looked in the phone book. I know someone who called their pastor to have a water heater replaced instead of calling a plumber or Home Depot. He was just a handyman and not a "professional" with a business license but that wasn't an issue for my friend.

[coolcats]

No such directory that I've ever heard of. As with any place, informal networks do have a place. Last year I called an electrician in our ward to help me out with some stuff in my basement, because based on personal friendship. You might find that. Trust me -- many contractors here are not LDS and do just fine.

[chazcrew]

thwrosdlton, I honestly never ask, or care, if the people I hire are LDS or otherwise. I promise. I know my dr is, but only because he used to sing with the Tabernacle Choir. I don't know about our other doctors, our dentist, our lawn care people, our bug spray people, the owners of any store I shop at, the guy who sold me my car, the girl who sold us our house....

The only reason we have ward directories is because we use them for church business. I did hire a guy in my ward to help with my sprinklers once, because he owns a landscaping company. But I also hired my brother-in-law to fix some stuff around my house because he's a handyman. I didn't hire either one because they were LDS, but rather because I personally knew them and trusted them to do a good job. Unless your business is church-related, I can't imagine why your beliefs or the beliefs of your competition would have any relevance.

I think you'll be just fine! :-)

[ez2bfriend]

Thanks everyone. I gave it a good deep thought, and I have decided against. The problem is that, for that business to succeed, a significant deal of networking and interdependence is mandatory. When all the networking and inter-related businesses, as well as the competing businesses, share one club that I do not belong to, no matter how fair they are, I may find myself blaming that issue. And, of course, every business can go wrong for one reason or another.

[brokerdude]

I'm sorry to hear you have decided against starting/owning a business.

I'm a business broker (we sell existing businesses) I would say 60%+ of businesses in Utah are not owned by LDS Members. Most business networking is done through local chambers of commerce, business trade groups, and the salt lake county first Fridays networking group.

even in Utah, business failure is because of one or a combination of the following reasons:
1. Start the business for the wrong reasons.
2. Poor or No Management Skills
3. Insufficient Capital
4. Poor Location
5. Lack of Planning
6. Overexpansion
7. Low Product Quality
8. Health or sudden illness

Most established businesses continue to be successful because of a Proven Location, The Right Product, or good Management.