Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Belmont.
Andrew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We are a family owned, event rental company that was started in 2006. Paul Belmont started this business offering exceptional service and we have grown steadily since then. We had almost no money to start and reinvested in equipment and people at every opportunity. Specifically, in the last 4 years, Belmont Party Rentals has developed very well to include excellent employees, great relationships with customers, and a strong and varied inventory. As we have worked our way up (through good years and hard years) we have developed an attitude that revolves around thanfulness and gratitude through our customers and the people we get to work with. We are grateful with how far we have come and are excited to see how we will continue to grow and serve St. Louis in the future!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has actually been quite a difficult journey. When we first started, we had very little money. Every expense counted. There were times where credit cards were maxed out to keep payroll going. We have intentionally avoided bank debt, which has been very difficult sometimes, but has paid off in the long run. For the first 10 year, we didn’t have a lot of employees and the physical labor could be trying. We depended on everyone and there were some days where some of us worked 15 or more hours to get our jobs completed. We had to be very intentional with investing in our business (and people) and study the best return on investment with our limited funds. To me, that is the exciting part because I enjoy numbers and calculations while seeing how they play out over time. As we grew, major changes needed to occur in order to handle all the different aspects of this business. We have modernized very well and has allowed us to do more work in less time that we did in the beginning to 4 years ago. That was very stressful to implement a new software, but has been extremely benficial and has allowed us to effectively handle more customers and volume. Warehouse space is also difficult as we are planning our next steps and how to get there. Industrial space has skyrocketed in STL over the last 3 years, so there is a lot to think about.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Belmont Party Rentals?
We started in 2006 as a party rental company and built it from the ground up. In the beginning, we had nothing and made our money off of deliveries and subrenting equipment, slowly building up inventory of our own. Around 2010 we moved into our first (rather cosy) warehouse. We thought we were in heaven.
We are particulaly good at being accessible and solving problems. One of Pauls saying is, “when you rent from Belmont, I come with the deal.” We always had a core group of customers that we get along with really well. To quote another one of our customers, “loyalty matters in St. Louis” and we take that to heart.
We rent a variety of equipment, but we don’t over extend our reach and try to do what we do well. We have different types/sizes of tables, chairs, and linens. We have been growing hard in our catering department, investing heavily in that area. We work with local caterers and rent dishware, plate warmers, or anything that can help their event go smoothly so they can focus what they do best; food.
All the rental companies rent pretty similar equipment and we all do different things well, which benefits St. Louis and the surrounding areas. Speaking just of us, a good work environment is top priority. When our employees all get along (which they do), they bring a positive experience to the customers that we deliver to and it does not go unnoticed. We are flexible with our employees time (you have to be in this day and age) and plan accordingly. We are also a pretty young party rental company with great leadership experience (the two Belmonts together have 70 years experience between them). The youth brings an excitement and hunger to do more jobs and to be the best we can be. We have been trying to focus on “creating a great rental experience” and I think we do that well (just look at our reviews!). Although we are not perfect, we appreciate feedback on how we can improve and take it very seriously.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I am an avid reader and read every day. I love to learn and am a generally curious person. I love history and biographies in particular. Titan, by Ron Chernow was a great book and I have used some of John D. Rockefellers methods and ideas that have helped me in our business. I am reading through all the US presidents (I am about 20 in). I love US history, and classics. I also love books on Churchill (the Last Lion Volume 1-3) and Napoleon: A Life. These are pretty amazing men. The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorites classi, which I have read several times. I just finished Le Miserable (that was long!), 3 Musketeers, and on. Some books for work that I found useful is of course, Good to Great and 7 Habbits of Highly Effective People. I find reading books about people to do great things contribute to my ability to make decisions and shape the vision for Belmont Party Rentals. I am always reading the Bible (the most important to me) as well as theology book with authors like CS Lewis, Tim Keller, Bryan Chapell, and others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.belmontpartyrentals.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belmont_party_rentals/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/belmontpartyrentals/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/belmont-party-rentals-saint-louis
