Small business owners would be better off starting a small business in the Midwest rather than the Northeast, according to a recently released study by a Virginia-based small business industry think tank.
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE)–www.sbe.com in Oakton, VA, issued its annual comprehensive report earlier this year highlighting the best and worst states in the country for people to start a business. The states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut rank at or near the bottom of the list and are the worst places to start a business. The report, entitled, the Small Business Survival Index, ranks states based on a variety of issues, including state and federal legislation mandates; access to capital; regulatory costs; taxes; energy costs; state programs; location and a multitude of other factors.
?Policies clearly affect the environment for investment, entrepreneurship and small business growth,? said SBE Council President and CEO Karen Kerrigan. She added that public policy costs and social trends also impact the growth and sustenance of small businesses. The best places to start a business include South Dakota, Nevada, Texas and Florida.? The worst places to start a business is California, with New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island deep at the bottom of the list. In most cases, various initiatives touted by legislators in the lower-ranked states to promote business growth and entrepreneurship have fallen short.
For example, in New Jersey, which ranked as the next to worst state to start a business, Republican Governor and 2016 presidential contender Chris Christie has repeatedly vowed to make the Garden State an attractive and more ?business friendly state,? by offering tax breaks and other incentives to businesses that set-up shop or expand into the Garden State. Similarly in New York, which ranked 48th out of 50 on the list,? Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s much hyped START-UP NY —an acronym for SUNY Tax Free Areas to Revitalize and Transform Upstate New York?a plan designed to link new and existing businesses with colleges and universities in New York has garnered minimal success since its inception in late 2013.
But not everyone is crying foul and giving up on making the metro area as a large, medium or small business friendly region of the country.? In August, banking industry JP Morgan Chase was awarded a 10-year, $187.7 million incentive from the Economic Development Authority (EDA) to relocate more than 2,100 jobs from New York to Jersey City. Similarly, the state continues to be home to dozens of biotech and pharmaceutical companies–including industry leader Johnson & Johnson.
?New Jersey has the perfect eco system to support biotech growth?a thriving bio pharmaceutical sector, world class universities and research facilities, and a highly educated workforce,? said Michele Brown, president and CEO of Choose New Jersey, a Princeton-based firm that promotes and markets New Jersey.? To view a complete listing of the SBE Council Small Business Survival Index 2014, visit the organization’s web site.
