Fascinating Map on Small Business Friendly States

2012 Thumbtack.com Small Business Survey, in partnership with Kauffman Foundation

Overall friendliness Ease of starting a business Hiring costs Regulations Health & safety Employment, labor & hiring Tax code Licensing Environmental Zoning Training programs Networking programs Current economic health Optimism about future Growth rate last year

Survey findings and summary

Thumbtack.com, in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, has conducted a two-month survey of over 6,000 small business owners nationwide. The data shines a new light on the United States’ business regulatory climate and the nation’s economic health.

“Six thousand small business owners have told an unusually nuanced story about what they value in their state or city government,” said Sander Daniels, co-founder of Thumbtack.com. “Although Texas and Idaho clearly come out on top as the nation’s friendliest states towards small business, entrepreneurs value a lot more than just low tax rates. Easy-to-understand licensing regulations and well-publicized training programs are often overlooked as critical tools necessary to support small business.

Some of the key findings include:
•Small businesses said licensing requirements were nearly twice as important as tax rates in determining their state or city government’s overall business-friendliness.
•An important predictor of small business friendliness was whether small business owners are aware of the state or local government offering training programs for small businesses.
•Among small business owners nationally, women were 9% more likely than men to feel supported by their state governments.

I like how bottom-of-the-barrel NJ comes out.

When Christie tawks, he makes it sound like we’ve seen some glorious rebirth.

Truth is, nothing has really changed, we just bubble-gummed and bailing-wired the State budget and propped up the good ol’d (government indoctrinator’s) teacher’s pension fund.

These comments from this website are classic:

* New Jersey earned a D+ overall for its showing as the nation’s #10 least friendly state nationwide towards small businesses. New Jersey small businesses were the third-most pessimistic nationwide about their economic future.
* Surprisingly, male-owned small businesses in New Jersey felt much more comfortable economically than did their female counterparts. Male entrepreneurs were 9% more likely than female entrepreneurs to rate their company’s current financial situation as “good” or “very good”.

The more Conservative the state, the better for business.

What about that do people not understand?

Do they have children and grandchildren.

Duh. . remember in November. . .

It looked to me as if NJ got an F in everything. I have to say one of the categories was "Ease of Starting a Business," and it got an F along with the rest.

I started my business back in 1983 and I don't remember it being particularly difficult. (Of course, I had a lawyer but he didn't charge me much or anything.) The problem here in NJ is once they have your business, they consider it their own little cash cow. Never once has the State done ANYTHING for my business beyond harrass it, extort money from it, and force me to buy things I would never buy myself. Beyond that, I pay unemployment insurance but I as I understand it, I am not eligible to collect.

It's a Garden State, all right!

ML/NJ

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