When Dun & Bradstreet vice president of Analytical
Services Jan Rowland ran the numbers for Entrepreneur and
Dun & Bradstreet's 8th annual ranking of the best cities in
the nation for entrepreneurship, one thing stuck out: Metropolitan
areas in the South--from Texas to Florida and up through North
Carolina--dominated the top 10. But it's the way that the South
achieved its lofty position that she found intriguing.
"There are a significant number of new businesses [in
the South] each year," she says. It's a trend that makes
the area attractive to entrepreneurs. Having other young companies
nearby represents an opportunity to grow business-to-business
relationships, she notes, as they aren't yet locked into
long-term supplier contracts. It's also a characteristic shared
by at least one major northwestern city: Seattle.
No wonder these booming areas might tempt a business owner to
move operations to a more friendly locale or open a branch office
in these entrepreneurial hot spots. It's an expensive option
for improving your business, but some entrepreneurs are willing to
give it a try.
A Moving Experience
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Seattle may have lost Boeing Co. to Chicago, but it just
gained Aquatoy Inc.
In April, the aquatic toy manufacturer relocated to Seattle, No.
20 on this year's list, after pulling up stakes in Mountain
View, California (right next to Silicon Valley's epicenter and
this year's 13th best entrepreneurial city, San Jose).
The Emerald City probably won't consider Aquatoy
compensation for the loss of the aerospace giant. The company's
move, however, says something about Seattle's continuing
attraction for entrepreneurs--if not corporate behemoths--which
bodes well for the city's future.
"It has a high-energy environment," says Aquatoy
president Wink Thorne, 36, who had lived in the city before moving
to California. "Seattle is a bit more of a cosmopolitan city
now. The resources are good: good work force, businesses,
restaurants and theaters."
Those same qualities, of course, apply to the Silicon Valley he
left behind. It's just that Mountain View and the surrounding
towns lacked two crucial items as Thorne planned the future of his
company: affordable space and plentiful employees.
In Seattle, Thorne found a 5,000-square-foot space evenly
divided between office and warehouse in the fishing district. He
was able to add five times the room he had in Mountain View for
only twice the cost.
He also found that Seattle is teeming with talent. Better still,
interviewing with a toy manufacturer doesn't turn off the
area's potential employees. Silicon Valley tech snobs, in
contrast, looked down their noses at the prospect of working for
Thorne's firm. In the move, Thorne left behind all but one of
his employees: his wife.
"We've been putting out ads for positions and been
amazed at the responses vs. what we were getting in the Mountain
View area," says Thorne. Cost is another huge factor in the
search for qualified workers. To replace his office administrator,
for instance, he'll pay 30 to 40 percent less than he'd
paid in the Bay area.
With sales constantly growing and distribution contracts now in
place with FAO Schwartz and Imaginarium, Thorne's move is
paying off. He's a perfect poster child for the way a move can
position a company for growth. But just how many entrepreneurs are
willing to take such a drastic step?
For a complete listing of the top cities and
profiles of our number-one hot spots,
click
here.
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