ShareThisDear Professor BruceI have an idea for a business but I live in a somewhat rural area and I'm not sure if the area is large enough to support an enterprise or grow the business. What should I do to ensure my business idea gets off the ground?Answer - These days, if you are looking at a technology or service-based Web business, it doesn't matter whether you live in Manhattan or on a desert island. For other businesses it's best to try and find out what assets your area has to develop a business idea. Make sure your hometown can support a new business or that the area has resources that can support a new enterprise. In other words, don't try to sell surfwear in Nebraska.Pennsylvania has an interesting program in which colleges and universities collaborate to support business startups in specific geographic areas. Called Keystone Innovation Zones (KIZs), there are 25 of these stretched across Pennsylvania. Many are in urban areas, but a few are in rural parts of the state. Dr. Michael Lehman, assistant vice president of the Juniata College Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (JCEL), oversees one such zone associated with Juniata College, a liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pa. The area is primarily rural, yet Dr. Lehman has focused recruitment efforts on information technology and biotechnology startups. "Information technology businesses usually can be located anywhere and Juniata college's reputation positions us perfectly for enterprises centered on biotechnology," he explains.Dr. Lehman also oversees a state-based Enterprise Zone, in which Pennsylvania's Economic Development department offers tax credits and low-interest loans to businesses that take advantage of an area's natural resources. For the Enterprise Zone surrounding Juniata, the program is developing businesses based in tourism, active retirement and the wood products industry. Business owners should research which markets present the best opportunities for new businesses in the area. The relationships a new owner makes with these funding agencies and with the college or university in their area will prove beneficial as the business expands and grows.For further information, visit www.jcel.biz.Bruce Freeman is president of ProLine Communications, a marketing and public relations firm in Livingston, NJ and an adjunct professor of marketing and entrepreneurship. E-mail questions to Bruce(at)SmallBusinessProf.com.
Can geography affect start-up businesses?
Submitted by administrator on Wed, 01/09/2008 - 13:34
Paying taxes unites us. It also divides us. People can pay five and even six times more in state and local taxes than other folks in similar circumstances making similar incomes.
Who's got your number?
In one of the fastest-growing forms of identity theft, crooks are stealing tax refunds by swiping personal information and using it to trick the Internal Revenue Service.
