Franklin Top 50 Cities to Start New Business
E-News from The Williamson Herald
By Mindy Tate, Editor
Business Week online has named Franklin, as one of the top 50 cities to start a small business, according to a release from city officials this morning, backing up evidence by county officials of a spirit of entrepreneurship.
The magazine states Franklin has universal qualities such as affordability, availability of a talented labor pool, existence of a thriving business community and quality of life. Business Week chose one small city in every state based on 11 factors that shape a city’s entrepreneurial climate, from education level of the workforce to the amount of venture-capital investment to the number of startups.
“The city of Franklin is an obvious choice for best in the state for small business owners,” said Franklin Mayor John Schroer. “Being a small business owner myself, I see every day how the citizens of Franklin embrace entrepreneurs. They would rather do business with a locally owned company and they respond positively to local businesses. Franklin’s small business owners have that can-do attitude which is really the character of the Franklin community as a whole.”
“I am thrilled Franklin was named one of the top places in the country to start a business,” said Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson. “Our new five-year economic development strategic plan calls for a renewed emphasis on initiatives that support entrepreneurs. Promoting and supporting a culture of entrepreneurship provides long-term stability for the economy in Williamson County and is critical to the long-range success of the area.”
Matt Largen, Williamson County’s economic development director, said earlier this year the new business starts are following an upward trend through all of 2008, crowning with 90 new business licenses issued in January 2009, a 220 percent increase from January 2009.
“I was doing some research the other day on new business starts in Williamson County as measured by new business licenses and came across something pretty interesting,” Largen said. “We had 16 new business starts in December 2007. In December 2008, that number was 72. “It seems like people are either getting downsized or think they are about to get downsized and they are striking out of their own, at least in Williamson County,” he said in early February.
“The types of new businesses range from Web service, consulting, technology, yoga classes, event planning, home decor and gifts, and pet products,” Largen said. “The types of businesses started reflect the diversity of the Williamson County economy.”
With a workforce estimated at 87,590 people and a December 2008 unemployment rate of 5 percent, Largen said it is also interesting to note that 21 percent of Williamson County’s workforce is classified as sole proprietorships or entrepreneurs, a factor that did not go unnoticed in the formation of the office’s new five-year strategic plan.
Nurturing a spirit of entrepreneurship is one of three new focus areas of Largen’s office, which works with an Economic Development Council which includes members from each local government, Chambers of Commerce and citizens.
Business Week used ZoomProspector to select the cities with population between 20,000 and 200,000. For more information on how Franklin was chosen for the best small cities for startups click here.
