(Community Matters) mostly posting to capture some great stats. Full article.
quoting:
7% — The growth in the number of small businesses based in Austin from 2010-2013, which led the nation by a large margin (Provo, Utah, came in second at 6.8 percent).
Austin had 44,163 small businesses in 2013 — or 2,342 for every 100,000 residents, a ratio better than most of the 106 metro areas studied.
Austin’s gross metropolitan product (a version of gross domestic product, measuring all goods and services produced) grew 18.2 percent from 2011-2014, second in the country behind Dallas.
Part of Austin’s formula for a small business surge is fairly well established: create an environment with the right pieces, including investors, good business schools, incubators, not too much red tape, and a critical mass of people with a business idea and big aspirations.
While corporate America has been cutting jobs, employment at small business start-ups has increased. Since 1990, as bigger companies cut 4 million jobs, small businesses added 8 million new jobs, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Today, the 28 million small businesses in the U.S. account for 66% of all net new jobs, 54% of all U.S. sales, and 30-50% of all commercial space, according to the SBA.
Community Matters 