You don't need to live in big city to thrive in tech business

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Dear Professor Bruce: My small technology company is growing out of my small town home office and I am looking for some space and a new location. The major areas for growing technology companies have traditionally been areas like San Francisco and Boston due to the excellent resources. Frankly, the costs of living in those areas are probably too expensive for me. What do you recommend?Answer: The scope of the Internet has changed the way we do business, especially in industry sectors like technology. No longer are companies required to be located in the traditional tech centers of San Francisco, Boston and Houston. They can essentially be anywhere in the world. Traditionally, companies looked for personnel prepared right out of universities and technical schools. In addition, companies are eager to collaborate with university research centers.Competitive salaries may have been enough to attract well-trained workers at one time, however, many people are looking for quality of life and a more reasonable cost of living. Family concerns such as quality of schools and recreational facilities become more important.Smaller companies need to grow and prosper in order to keep a local economy strong.When considering a new location, it is a good idea to look for business incentives such as industry specific tax credits, workforce and training investment dollars and facility inducements. An area that has a concentration of postsecondary institutions and community and technical colleges would present a possible pipeline of young, educated employees necessary for any technology business.According to Michael Odom, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Operations for the Baton Rouge (La.) Chamber, "there are statewide incentives for companies that do business in the digital media arena focusing on attracting new companies to the area. Baton Rouge, for instance, has a quality jobs program that helps employers train and develop their current staff. In addition, we have Louisiana State University, Southern University, and Baton Rouge Community College nearby."There are other areas like Baton Rouge that offer the kinds of resources that would be conducive to small business growth. The US Small Business Administration and your local Small Business Development Center provide excellent advice and information.For further information, please visit www.brac.org.Bruce Freeman is president of ProLine Communications, a marketing and public relations firm in Livingston, NJ and co-author of Birthing the Elephant (Ten Speed Press). E-mail questions to Bruce(at)SmallBusinessProf.com.