| In
This Issue |
| ·
Painless Planting and Pruning
· Pricing Your House -
It Can Be More Than Just Guess Work
· How to Have a Great Garage
Sale
· Best Cities for Entrepreneurs
·
Past Issues: August,
July,
June,
May,
April |
|
Monthly
Quote |
“If
winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then
autumn rounds out to be reflection. It's a time of year when the
leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone.
Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it's
time to reflect on what's come before.”
-Mitchell Burgess, Actor, “Northern Exposure” |
| Tip
Of The Month |
|
If you’re looking to buy
a house, keep in mind that used homes are generally more costly
to operate and maintain than new homes. Many new homes are energy
efficient while older homes may have older components, such as
appliances, gutters, roofs, furnaces and plumbing system, which
means more work or quicker replacement. Before buying a used home,
it is wise to ask the seller for copies of the last two years
of utility bills to see how much it costs to operate the house.
If the costs are sky-high, it may be time to think about making
the home more energy-efficient or simply looking elsewhere.
(Source: Home Buying for Dummies, Eric Tyson & Ray Brown,
Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2001)
|
|
HouseHunt.com
| MoveUp.com
| Market
Conditions | Mortgage
Info
Best
Cities for Entrepreneurs
 Entrepreneur
magazine and D & B have issued their 10th annual list of
the best cities for entrepreneurs. The overall ranking is based on a
combination of four factors: entrepreneurial activity, small business
growth, job growth, and risk. Surprisingly, 2003 has seen a good deal
of movement within the top 10 (see table: Top 10 Cities For Entrepreneurs,
2003). Minneapolis-St. Paul topped the list of movers and shakers, going
from 15th in 2002 to 1st in 2003. Minnesota’s largest metropolitan
area is the top place for entrepreneurs to seek their fortune!
Although
Minneapolis-St. Paul’s entrepreneurial activity is not extremely
high, meaning that it is not necessarily the ideal place to start a
business (that honor went to Las Vegas), its high ranking for small
business growth, risk, and a much improved ranking in job growth means
that Minneapolis-St. Paul is an excellent place to be for those businesses
that are already operating there. The high ranking is therefore not
indicative of the emergence of new business, but is the result of strong
growth and stability of the businesses already there.
Many
people in the business world place a lot of emphasis on the creative
element, something not specifically measured by the data gathered to
compile the current best cities list. Creativity and the support of
such creativity could be what have allowed Minneapolis-St. Paul to thrive,
where others have fallen. 3M Corp., a company famous for its creativity,
has its base in Minneapolis-St. Paul, which could be one explanation
for the area’s embrace of creative businesses.
Other
cities that have not faired so well include several large Texas cities.
The most notable of which is Dallas. Once ranking 1st and then slipping
to 2nd, Dallas has now slipped all the way down to 24th. Most attribute
the slip to the bursting of the technology bubble. Dallas has often
been considered a hotbed of technology for start-up companies, and indeed,
Dallas still ranks high in entrepreneurial activity; however, its slip
is mostly due to a very poor performance in the job growth and risk
categories.
Now
that we are halfway through 2004, is Minneapolis-St. Paul showing any
signs of going the same way as Dallas or Fort Worth (which dived from
5th to 37th)? Although it is too early to tell, those operating business
in Minneapolis-St. Paul are confident that the growth is not showing
any signs of tapering off, and that the top ten is a place they are
going to be inhabiting for a while to come!
TOP
10 CITIES FOR ENTREPRENEURS, 2003
Two cities with the same ranking indicate a tie
| Overall
Rank |
City/Metro
Area |
Entrepreneurial
Activity |
Small
Business Growth |
Job
Growth |
Risk |
2002
Rank |
| 1 |
Minneapolis/St.
Paul |
58 |
96 |
77 |
93 |
15 |
| 2 |
Washington |
66 |
78 |
78 |
96 |
1 |
| 3 |
Atlanta |
99 |
63 |
70 |
82 |
11 |
| 4 |
Fort
Lauderdale |
90 |
45 |
95 |
76 |
5 |
| 5 |
Salt
Lake City/Ogden |
76 |
93 |
82 |
53 |
21 |
| 6 |
West
Palm Beach/Boca Raton |
90 |
27 |
99 |
78 |
18 |
| 7 |
Norfolk/Virginia
Beach/Newport News |
69 |
79 |
63 |
78 |
25 |
| 8 |
Miami |
77 |
57 |
73 |
76 |
5 |
| 9 |
Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock
Hill |
71 |
78 |
61 |
70 |
14 |
| 10 |
Orlando |
98 |
20 |
71 |
80 |
30 |
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