It's said that variety is the spice of life. In the Salt Lake City area, variety is also creating a highly successful business climate.
In the past, the area depended primarily on a military base and copper, coal and gold mining to provide an economic foundation, but today everything from high-tech to tourism to construction flourish in this city's stable economy. Winning the 2002 Olympic Winter Games was icing on the cake, offering confirmation that Salt Lake is the place to be.
As with all fast-growing cities, Salt Lake has its problems, chiefly roads and highways that are being brought up to snuff with a five-year project to improve Interstate 15. An overall labor shortage has forced some small companies to pay salaries of as much as 40 percent more than they were paying two years ago.
But perhaps the biggest challenge for Salt Lake City is one of attitude. Some people are ready to slow the city's growth; others are happy to ride the wave of prosperity; and still others advocate planning for what will happen when the wave crests. Meanwhile, small business grows on.
This article was originally published in the October 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: 20 Best Cities For Small Business.
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