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Western Montana InBusiness November 2009 – "Yes We’re Open" – Give thanks for Montana’s, Missoula’s business climate

Here we are – already! – at the November edition of Western Montana InBusiness, and we’re giving thanks for the growing, vibrant, forward-thinking business community that Montanans have built over the years. As our cover illustration proclaims: "Yes, we’re open!"

By SHERRY DEVLIN

And while there have been (and always will be) naysayers, reporter Michael Jamison found a wealth of sources eager to sing the praises of doing business in Montana. From every statistical point of view, we looked pretty doggone good:

• Forbes magazine ranked Montana eighth nationally for overall business climate.

• The Milkin Institute said we’re second for the number of high-tech industries growing faster than the U.S. average, and second for per-capita research and development spending.

• Business Facilities magazine put Montana at No. 6 nationally in overall tax climate for business and said we have the 11th best-educated work force.

"Montana is very competitive, compared to other states," said Kellie Danielson, head of economic development in the Flathead Valley.

We also checked in with Missoula Mayor John Engen, about to enter his second term in office, for an update on the Garden City’s economic development plans: zoning regulations, entepreneurs, jobs, the lessons of the recession, taxes, energy efficiency, the prospects for "big" new employers.

Again, Montana and with it Missoula, is a step ahead of the rest. Said the mayor: "We don’t necessarily ride the booms and the busts in ways that I think other regions and other communities have. I am not closing fire stations. I am not closing police precincts. … And I have counterparts in other cities that are doing exactly that."

Our resident experts – business leaders in and around Missoula – joined us this month to offer some timely advice for their fellow business owners. Don’t miss the column by Colleen Rudio or the Q&A with Jena Gardner, a University of Montana business school graduate, now a successful businesswoman based in Manhattan – New York, not Montana! And if you’re looking to increase your competitiveness, or at least your visibility, in the online world, columnist Mark Ratledge has a great to-do list you can start implementing today.

In the meantime, we’re hard at work on the year-end edition of InBusiness – already! – and at plans for 2010.

Sherry Devlin is editor of Western Montana InBusiness and the Missoulian. You can reach her at (406) 523-5250 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Full Edition: http://www.mtinbusiness.com/inbiz-0911/index.php

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