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INC’s
Best Places for Business
INC MagazIne is out with its annual listing of the best places for
business and this year’s winner is Atlanta—at least among large
metro areas. INC lauds Atlanta (and the Southeast in general) as good
places for business because of a pro-business culture, a strong service
sector, and relatively affordable housing. The annual INC rankings are
produced by consultant Joel Kotkin; they include indicators such as job
growth, business diversity, and business costs. The top performers in
this year’s list are detailed below:
Large Metro Areas (Over 450,000 population):
1. Atlanta, 2. Riverside-San Bernadino, 3. Las Vegas, 4. San Antonio,
5.West Palm Beach.
Medium Metro Areas (150,000-450,000 population):
1. Green Bay, 2. Madison, 3. Sarasota, 4. Fresno, 5. Bakersfield.
Small Metro Areas (under 150,000 population):
1. Montpelier (VT), 2. Missoula (MT), 3. Casper (WY), 4. Rockland County
(NY), 5. Sioux Falls (SD)
The 25 Top Cities for Your Business appears is currently available in
the March 2004 print edition of Inc Magazine. Inc is available online at
www.inc.com, but you will have to wait
until March.
Transforming
Rural Development
Small business and entrepreneurship advocates have long talked about new
ways of promoting rural development. Reliance on agricultural subsidies
and other traditional strategies will no longer suffice; new models and
approaches are required. A new report by the Progressive Policy
Institute (an affiliate of the Democratic Leadership Council) adds
further fuel to this fire. The report, Reversing Rural America’s
Economic Decline: The Case for a National Balanced Growth Strategy,
argues that rural America is being left behind as other regions of the
country prosper. Rural regions can rebound if rural development policies
are brought into the information age. Thus, agricultural subsidies
should be reduced and funds for rural development should increase.
Savings from reduced subsidies should be invested into a new Rural
Prosperity Corporation that would co-invest with the states to boost the
competitiveness of rural economies. In addition, where possible,
government activities should be moved to rural areas from high cost
metropolitan regions.
The February 2004 Progressive Policy Institute report, Reversing Rural
America’s Economic Decline: The Case for a National Balanced Growth
Strategy, by Robert D. Atkinson, is available at http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=107&subsecid=123&contentid=252381
New
Guide to Government Technology Funds
While the new federal budget cuts many government technology programs
(such as the Commerce Department’s Advanced Technology Program), the
U.S. government is still the world’s largest source of funding for
R&D and technology-related programs. In other words, there’s still
a lot of money to go around—if you seek it in the right places. If
you’re interested in tapping this source of funding, you might want to
take a look at the 2004 Technology Funding Guide produced by Larta, a
Los-Angeles area technology business think tank. This massive guide
gives tips for accessing federal funds and also offers details on more
than 80 federal funding programs. It also offers more detailed reviews
of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business
Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. There’s a lot of detail in this
guide but it’s well-presented and easily accessible.
Winning Government R&D Money: The 2004 Federal Technology Funding
Guide is available at http://www.larta.org/Research/PublicationDetail.asp?Pub=FTFG2004
Registration
is required.
Grants
for Youth Innovation in Singapore
Singapore has been through some tough times lately, having braved SARS
and Avian flu as well as intense economic competition from China and
other rising Asian economies. The nation’s leaders recognize that
innovation and entrepreneurship will be one way for Singaporeans to
remain competitive in the world economy, and Singapore’s government is
trying a host of techniques to support homegrown entrepreneurship. The
latest effort comes out of Singapore’s Education Ministry. With
support from Citigroup, the Ministry is offering small grants to
schoolchildren and teachers who develop interesting business ideas.
Grants range in size from $2,500 to develop an idea, to $10,000 from
beginning commercialization efforts. Lots of interesting ideas, such as
a stock market card game and a combination toothbrush/thermometer, have
already emerged from the Ideas in Action program. The 2004 version of
Ideas in Action was announced last week, and lots of interesting
initiatives are expected throughout the year.
To learn about the Singapore Ministry of Education’s Innovation and
Enterprise programs, visit http://www.moe.gov.sg/pld/ine/ine.htm
To learn more about this year’s Ideas in Action program, visit http://www1.moe.edu.sg/speeches/2004/sp20040212.htm
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Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council
Advantage West
3 General Aviation Drive
Fletcher, NC 28732
828-273-9862
jroberts@awnc.org
www.ncmtns.biz
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Western North Carolina is fast becoming a cool place for young people. With its beautiful mountain scenery, outdoor amenities, and relative proximity to major metro areas, Asheville is attracting young people seeking the best of both rural and urban life. The region is hoping to capture this energy for entrepreneurial development as well, and the Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council (BREC) is leading the charge. BREC is a relatively new entrepreneurial network. It has been in place for one year, and serves and “24-7 business platform” for Western Carolina’s entrepreneurs. In addition to providing mentoring and networking opportunities for entrepreneurs, BREC is heavily focused on improving equity capital access in the region. It helps manage the Blue Ridge Angel Investment Network (BRAIN) and has also helped local firms attract venture capital from outside investors. BREC also recently hosted the world premiere of a documentary film based on Richard Florida’s book, “The Rise of the Creative Class.”
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