Small Businesses, Looking for a Place to Settle?

There are many different factors to take into consideration when opening a brick and mortar small business.  Businesses in this space are going to great lengths to carve out a niche and make a name for themselves. Research needs to be conducted to determine what types of businesses are in the area including those similar to the one being opened.  Additionally, what kind of neighborhood is the business going to be in, what kind of customer base is there and will they be open to this type of business.  Whether retail or service oriented, one important thing to consider is where to locate a new business.  The following seven cities were provided by CNNMoney as the best cities to open a small business along with reasons why they are succeeding as such.

1.       Oklahoma City – low cost of living, high activity in the natural gas and oil industries, 81% of college students remaining after graduation helping to revitalize the urban area.

2.       Dallas – Fort Worth – low taxes, tort reform law that help shield companies from lawsuits, entrepreneurs are more often mid-level experience as opposed to fresh out of school.

3.       San Antonio – a big city with a small town feel makes for an inviting environment for small businesses, low taxes and tort reform law are also prominent here.

4.       Austin – (see a trend yet?) a mecca for unique small businesses creates an attraction for businesses with a different brand to sell, University of Texas's McCombs Entrepreneur Society and the micro-enterprise development organization BiGAUSTIN are a great aid in helping businesses start up here as well.

5.       Atlanta – high saturation of Fortune 500 companies creates value for small businesses looking for support as well as a collaborative network of entrepreneurs.

6.       Colorado Springs – another city with a strong support network for entrepreneurs, as well as a strong concern for environmental affairs has this city ranking as #6 on this list.

7.       Omaha – this city is all about location with businesses benefiting from talent commuting in from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota, in combination with a low cost of living, this mid-west city rounds out the list.

Based on this list it is clear that the big metropolises are not the best places for small businesses to plant their roots. Does that mean big cities equal big business? Not necessarily.  Every city needs its balance of large and small businesses to drive commence and create jobs.  This brief look into the Mid-west and Southern metropolises gives consumers and businesses alike an idea of where to look when trying to find that small business feel.