100 Best Places to Start A Business

Wouldn’t it be nice if somewhere in Wisconsin would show up on one of these lists sometime?

1. Madison is 46 and Brookfield 72.

   Posted by on March 30, 2008 at 1256 hrs




2. Yep. Though I’m not sure why...Brookfield’s marking is very aggressive but I don’t see much return for the effort. Although the article apparently measured marketing and not actual starts.

   Heck, when one of our own aldermen (Rick Owen) started a business a few years ago he headed to Pewaukee!

   Posted by Cindy on March 30, 2008 at 1311 hrs




3. Oops. That should be “marketing” and not “marking.”

   Posted by Cindy on March 30, 2008 at 1312 hrs




4. Sorry, this was supposed to be a sarcastic post for people like me who often point out lists like these where Wisconsin is completely absent.  I should have put an emoticon on there or something.  How about this one?

   

   Posted by Owen on March 30, 2008 at 1705 hrs




5. Owen:  BULL.  Just another failed, sloppy slam.

   Posted by on March 30, 2008 at 1830 hrs




6. Uh huh.  Whatever.  How about this smiley?

   

   Posted by Owen on March 30, 2008 at 1838 hrs




7. I wouldn’t call this a total whiff by Owen. Out of 100 cities we get our first mention at 46… I wouldn’t call this a ringing endorsement of Wisconsin business climate!

   Posted by on March 30, 2008 at 2118 hrs




8. Among our business leaders Milwaukee in particular, this is not a risk-taking culture,

   Posted by on March 31, 2008 at 1030 hrs




9. Um, these are for NEW businesses - so it doesn’t matter what kind of CURRENT business leaders there are…

   Posted by on March 31, 2008 at 1202 hrs




10. I’m curious what the worst places were and how we rank there.

    Posted by on March 31, 2008 at 1238 hrs




11. Actually, Wi did not do to bad in comparison to the rest of the states in terms of the number of best.

    Especially if you factor in weather.

    Pick a state
    State No. of best
    places
    Alabama 1
    Alaska 0
    Arizona 3
    Arkansas 1
    California 9
    Colorado 4
    Connecticut 2
    Delaware 1
    District of Columbia 0
    Florida 5
    Georgia 2
    Hawaii 1
    Idaho 2
    Illinois 1
    Indiana 2
    Iowa 3
    Kansas 0
    Kentucky 0
    Louisiana 0
    Maine 1
    Maryland 2
    Massachusetts 3
    Michigan 1
    Minnesota 3
    Mississippi 0
    Missouri 2
    Montana 2
    Nebraska 1
    Nevada 2
    New Hampshire 1
    New Jersey 2
    New Mexico 2
    New York 3
    North Carolina 6
    North Dakota 1
    Ohio 1
    Oklahoma 1
    Oregon 4
    Pennsylvania 4
    Rhode Island 1
    South Carolina 1
    South Dakota 1
    Tennessee 1
    Texas 4
    Utah 1
    Vermont 1
    Virginia 4
    Washington 4
    West Virginia 0
    Wisconsin 2
    Wyoming 1

    Posted by on March 31, 2008 at 1409 hrs




12. Redo that list to see how many states had multiple entires in the 10 ten or top 25 and then you’ll see how great we are doing.

    Pull your head out of your rear end and accept the fact that the business climate in this state is terrible and needs to be improved. Then we can start working on the things that will get us a top 10 spot.

    Posted by on March 31, 2008 at 1642 hrs




13. Redo that list to see how many states had multiple entires in the 10 ten or top 25 and then you’ll see how great we are doing.

    Gee Bill.
    California has 3, Texas and North Carolina 2 each.

    I think that is it for multiples in the top 25?

    And 23 states have 1 or less in the top 100.

    And 11 states are tied with us at 2.

    Seems like we are about in the middle.

    And with boosters like you I can’t imagine why a business would not want to locate here.

    A toast to those whose glasses are always half empty.

    Posted by on March 31, 2008 at 1704 hrs




14. Interesting PJR. I figured it was a couple per state. I do know from the Brookfield entry that it may be more show than go - we’ve haven’t had a trail blazed to the door unless free money was involved.

    So maybe we really aren’t a tax hell and things are ok? What will Ted Kanavas do now that he doesn’t need his economic development platform as his main issue? Lots a questions with this latest revelation.

    Owen, I like number 6 better than 4. You did lose me initially.

    Posted by Cindy on March 31, 2008 at 1722 hrs




15. And how many businesses have you started? I’m at 3 right now.

    What would it take to get us a top 10 spot?

    Posted by on April 01, 2008 at 0723 hrs




16. And how many businesses have you started?

    For most of my adult life I was never an employee of someone else.

    I don’t know maybe a dozen. I always saw opportunities and exploited them.

    I sold a 3 business family of companies and basically retired at 45.

    There are still 2 businesses left and a real estate portfolio, by design they pretty much run themselves with some occasional nurturing or butt kicking as the situation warrants.

    What would it take to get us a top 10 spot?

    Let me get out my crystal ball!

    A reversal in the dynamics of the global economy and time travel back to a 1950’s-60’s industrially based domestic economy.

    A massive dose of climate change that would eliminate 8 feet of snow and sub zero temps.

    Come on Bill it doesn’t take a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows. (H/T- Bob Dylan)

    Posted by on April 01, 2008 at 0814 hrs




17. Famous Footwear moves to St. Louis

    The parade of businesses continues - last one out close the door and turn off the lights…

    Posted by on April 10, 2008 at 1929 hrs




18. Yep. Though I’m not sure why...Brookfield’s marking is very aggressive but I don’t see much return for the effort. Although the article apparently measured marketing and not actual starts.

    Posted by Toronto Condos on April 30, 2008 at 1104 hrs




19. These lists mean very very little. 

    If you look at the variables they factor in to shakeout what they deem the best places to ‘live and launch’ a business its all very subjective.

    http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/bestplaces/2008/faq/ index.html

    What makes a great place to live for one person doesn’t make it a great place to live for another.

    As far as businesses leaving the state.  From what I’ve observed, the reasons I hear most is that the tax incentives and total ‘financial package’ offered by another government entity was better.  So I’m not sure that I want wisconsin offering corporate welfare to get companies to come here, and to be honest, that SEEMS to be all that matters to companies now days.  The Bowling Congress was all about the government incentives offered.  Husco just decided to build a plant out of state (forget where) and Gus Ramirez said it was a “no brainer” because of the financial package offered by the other state or city…

    I’d really love to see where companies would locate if government stopped poaching companies from other locations. 

    Having said that, with our high tax structure in this state, you really must ask yourself where all that money goes… It sure isn’t to attract businesses. (not that it should be) but its going somewhere! 

    At the end of the day, one thing is for certain.  The taxpayers in this state are getting screwed.  Because as one of the highest taxed states the money is going somewhere??? Social Spending??? entitlements??? 

    It just makes me sick that everytime a business leaves, its because the financial package offered by another state or local government somewhere made it a ‘no brainer’.  Corporate welfare at the expense of taxpayers.  And the answer is NOT more corporate welfare from wisconsin to companies…

    Posted by on April 30, 2008 at 1251 hrs