Can you keep a secret? No? Good, because Orlando wants you to
tell everyone you know just how good it is to entrepreneurial
businesses. That's no surprise to us--this small-business
haven, which has had a top 10 finish four years running, shares top
billing this year with Dallas as the No. 1 city for
entrepreneurs.
Historically noted for its tourism--fed chiefly by Walt Disney
World, Sea World and Universal Studios--Orlando is much more than a
one-trick pony. It's also a high-tech mecca nurtured by an
attractive climate, a reasonable cost of living and of doing
business, and a world-class international airport.
As a technology hub, Orlando is a certified sleeper. Though its
relative obscurity has hurt tech businesses searching for capital,
its leadership in the simulation and information high-tech
industries and its proximity to NASA are finally attracting
attention--and helping the area weather the technology slump. Add a
new campaign to heighten awareness of the area as a technology
stronghold, and Orlando is likely to reach star status in tech
circles before long.
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Of course, growth comes with its own set of problems, and in
Orlando those include lack of affordable housing, a labor shortage
and inadequate mass transit. O-Force--the Orlando Regional
Workforce Development Partnership--is creating programs to meet the
region's labor needs.
Improving mass transit is on the drawing board, and while the
county commission recently rejected plans for a light-rail system,
residents approved a constitutional referendum in the November 2000
election to create a high-speed rail system that will connect
Orlando with Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa. Many locals believe
that will lure workers and even capital to the area.
All those efforts, combined with the area's entrepreneurial
spirit and willingness to extend its Southern hospitality to all
who come to Orlando, should keep the region on the list of business
hot spots for years to come.
-C.E.G.
For a complete listing of the top cities and
profiles of our number-one hot spots,
click
here.
Chris Sandlund is Entrepreneur's "Management
Smarts" columnist.
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