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Where to go for America’s hottest small biz market- Bozeman #1, Kalispell #10 in Small Markets (below 100,000 residents)

The best small-sized market in ACBJ’s rankings is Bozeman, Mont., which is surrounded by the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 4,800 feet. Bozeman is a marketing center for livestock, grain and dairy products, the home of Montana State University and a northern gateway to Yellowstone National Park, which is a bit more than an hour’s drive away.
Bozeman has a ratio of 5,262 small businesses per 100,000 residents, as well as a two-year growth rate of 10.7 percent. It ranks among the 16 best small-sized markets (places with populations below 100,000) in both of those categories.

Bend and Bozeman are prospering because they are "high-amenity areas" that provide recreational opportunities and scenic beauty, as well as the chance to succeed at business, says Stephan Weiler, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

"There has been a lot of in-migration to the Intermountain West, a number of highly educated people moving in," says Weiler, who is also the assistant vice president of the Fed’s Center for the Study of Rural America. "Many of these people have technical skills, and they’re enterprising enough to call their own shots. Or at least, they’re willing to give it a try."

Several other medium and small markets in the Interior West boast dynamic small-business climates, according to ACBJ’s report. Among them are Prescott, Ariz.; Edwards and Fort Collins, Colo.; Kalispell, Mont.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Heber and St. George, Utah; and Gillette and Sheridan, Wyo.

A common theme runs through ACBJ’s rankings of large, medium and small-sized markets. Places that are supposedly out of the mainstream — Portland, Maine; Bend, Ore.; and Bozeman, Mont., for example — actually provide top-notch opportunities for budding entrepreneurs.

"One of the lessons here is that you no longer have to be in Silicon Valley to start your own tech business," says Weiler. "It’s now possible to live in a high-amenity area and provide services from a distance."

G. Scott Thomas
American City Business Journals

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(Many thanks to Liz Harris President of Jobs Now http://www.flatheadport.org in Kalispell and CONGRATULATIONS on Kalispell’s fine ranking! Russ)

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Full Story: http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/2005/small_biz_towns/best_towns.html

Top Markets in Small Business Vitality
Large markets
(above 500,000 residents)

1. Portland, Maine
2. Miami-Fort Lauderdale
3. Jacksonville
4. Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
5. Las Vegas
6. Madison, Wis.
7. Raleigh
8. Denver
9. Oxnard, Calif.
10. Sacramento

Medium markets
(100,000-500,000 residents)

1. Bend, Ore.
2. Naples, Fla.
3. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
4. San Luis Obispo, Calif.
5. Prescott, Ariz.
6. Fort Collins, Colo.
7. Seaford, Del.
8. Napa, Calif.
9. Santa Fe, N.M.
10. Trenton, N.J.

Small markets
(below 100,000 residents)

1. Bozeman, Mont.
2. Kill Devil Hills, N.C.
3. Gillette, Wyo.
4. Woodward, Okla.
5. St. George, Utah
6. Sheridan, Wyo.
7. Edwards, Colo.
8. Heber, Utah
9. Palm Coast, Fla.
10. Kalispell, Mont.

SOURCE: American City Business Journals

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Kalispell ranks high as a small business market
Posted: Sunday, Jan 23, 2005 – 12:43:22 am PST

The Daily Inter Lake
The small-business climate in Kalispell is one of the best in the country, according to the American City Business Journals publishing group.

In its latest ranking of America’s "hottest small-business markets," Kalispell was ranked 10th in the top 10 markets of below 100,000 residents. Bozeman was ranked first.

The publishing group used a four-category formula to rate local climates for small businesses, defined as companies with fewer than 100 employees. The categories were:

• Number of small businesses.

• Change in the number of small businesses from 2000 to 2002 (the latest year for which official figures are available).

• Change in private-sector employment from 2000 to 2002.

• Change in private-sector payrolls from 2000 to 2002.

Bend, Ore., was ranked first in the medium-sized market.

Full Story: http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2005/01/23/business/bus02.txt

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Bozeman ranked No. 1 small-business market among small U.S. cities

"It’s not just the city limits of Bozeman, it’s the economy of the Gallatin Valley," Smith said. "It’s without a doubt the lure of the university, the recreation, the highly-educated work force and the rest of those intangible quality-of-life issues."

Those advantages attract people making lifestyle and career changes who are willing to take a risk on a small business to live in a safe community with quality schools.

"Every day it’s hard running a small business," Smith said. "You have people starting up businesses from things they’ve done on the side or something maybe they did for somebody else."

By ERIN NICHOLES, Chronicle Staff Writer

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2005/01/25/news/smallbusinesshonor.txt

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No. 1 small business ranking food for thought

OUR OPINION

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2005/02/01/opinions/editbizranking.txt

Bozeman frequently pops up on those national small town rankings for recreation opportunities and social amenities — to no one’s great surprise. This is, after all, a pretty fun place to live.

But Bozeman’s No. 1 ranking as the best small-business market in cities of its size comes as a bit of a surprise to some of us at least.

The ranking was the result of a study conducted by American Cities Business Journals, a firm that publishes business journals in major cities around the U.S. The study ranked Bozeman the top small business market among cities with fewer than 100,000 people for things like the ratio of small businesses per 100,000 people and growth rate in small businesses — an amazing 10.7 percent over two years, in Bozeman’s case.

The study also pointed to the high-quality work force found locally as a reason the area might be attractive to entrepreneurs.

Small business owners who have been having a few problems making ends meet recently probably question the ranking. The fact that Bozeman attracts so many newcomers — many with dreams of starting their own business — may, in fact, create an extremely competitive small business market.

The ranking provokes another thought: Local activists have waged energetic campaigns against the entry of big box stores into the Bozeman market for fear they would swallow up mom-and-pop, locally owned businesses and destroy the town’s character.

The fact that the area ranks No. 1 in the nation among small cities for the best small-business market — even though a number of big box stores have set up shop here — speaks to the resiliency of these small business and maybe to how little big box stores impact smart and enterprising businesspeople.

This much is certain: A No. ranking in the widely distributed American Cities Business Journals is going to attract even more attention to our area as a great place to locate and a great place to recreate.

And that kind of attention is probably going to make the market an even better place to do business.

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