4 Good States to Start a Business In

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Startups are booming these days, and the financial crises of 2020 don’t seem to be changing that. In fact, quite the contrary: Many are predicting that these crises will actually lead more people to eschew traditional careers and attempt to start their own businesses moving forward.

There are various reasons for the thriving startup culture we find ourselves in the midst of these days, but one of them, undoubtedly, is the fact that it’s never been easier to start a company from home. As our ‘7 Tips for Launching Your Business From Home With Minimal Startup Costs’ pointed out, the ability to create a brand and start a website on your own essentially means that you can at least get your business idea off the ground without ever leaving your place of residence.

It’s an appealing thought for lots of aspiring entrepreneurs, and makes it easier for people to give this sort of work a shot.

Even if starting a business from home is easy and appealing though, location can still be a factor in launching a company. In some cases, naturally, a given business venture may be best suited to a particular location for a specific reason. Even more generally though, there’s something to be said for seeking out the right place to start a business that you’re hoping to grow.

Whether you’re thinking of setting up a real estate agency, becoming a registered NDIS provider, starting up a digital business or a brick and mortar one, there are so many options and ideas to consider!

It’s with that in mind that we decided to go over some of the best places in the U.S. for new business these days. And with the caveat that plenty of other places have interesting advantages as well, these are four states that stand out.

Texas

Texas leads the list in large part because it’s increasingly recognized as the next big technology hub in the U.S. While it may never surpass California in this respect, the state is attracting young startup founders and working tech execs alike. Built-In ranked up-and-coming tech hubs in fact, and put the city of Austin first on the list, noting that there are nearly 3,000 tech companies in town.

Growth in this sector — combined with the fact that Texas is a major state in the increasingly innovative energy sector — contributes to a prevailing feeling of expanding startup culture throughout the state.

On top of these industry conditions, Texas also attracts a lot of business leaders because of its appealing tax laws. Most notable is the fact that the state does not charge income tax, which allows entrepreneurs and independent workers to save more of their income, and ultimately put more toward businesses. This is part of what’s attracting leaders in the tech space, and it should continue to propel Texas’s startup atmosphere moving forward.

Don’t forget that when starting a business you’ll need to consider how you plan to manage your accounts and taxes, and whether you’ll need 409a documentation.

Georgia

As with Texas and the city of Austin, Georgia makes our list partly because of a single city’s growing reputation as a hot spot for new businesses. In this case it’s Atlanta, and Inc’s reasons the city is a powerhouse make it clear why: Atlanta has a low cost of doing business, a focus on good living conditions and forward-looking smart city developments, a growing population of young and talented people, and an emerging startup scene. Altogether it makes for just about the perfect modern city for new business ventures.

In Georgia more broadly, we would also note, there’s also a surprising variety of industries operating at a very high level. Agriculture has always been big in the state, and is an increasingly forward-looking field, with new technologies constantly impacting business. Tourism and energy have also grown to be massive state-wide industries, and even the entertainment business (meaning film and television) is very big in Georgia. In short, many different kinds of businesses can thrive there.

Colorado

Colorado should be considered first and foremost because it offers favorable conditions for new business founders. According to a ZenBusiness post on LLC startups in Colorado, the necessary steps required to register a new business with the state can all be completed online. They ultimately consist of just a few forms really, which means your business can go from an idea to a registered company in virtually no time. And logistical matters aside, the state’s favorable startup conditions also extend to funding; per an Alt Cap piece on startup funding, new Colorado companies brought in $2.5 billion in venture capital funds in 2019 alone.

Colorado also has some of the same attributes that make Texas appealing to a lot of new business founders. There’s an emerging tech scene (primarily in the Denver area), and there are excellent cities of varying sizes known for a high quality of life. Throw in a major airport that’s something of a cross-country hub (a luxury for some businesses as they grow), and the state really offers everything you might want.

Florida

The state of Florida has also been climbing the ranks of recommended states for new business leaders. In this case the main benefits cited tend to be related to taxation given that like Texas, Florida has no state income tax (or estate tax). This may sound like little more than an appealing perk, but as you may know if you’ve ever tried to launch a company, it can make a big difference. Every dollar counts for a startup founder, and these tax conditions can amount to thousands of dollars in savings.

Making the financial situation even more appealing in Florida is the fact that it’s become a very busy state for new business investment. A piece on area investment at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel notes that this actually wasn’t the case until a few years ago. In South Florida in particular (where much of the population resides) founders have historically had trouble attracting funding. But angel investors have moved into the state in a big way in recent years, and where angel investors go, startups follow.

The good news ultimately is that startups are booming across much of the country, even beyond these places. But if you’re looking for a place where it might make the most sense to pursue your startup dreams, these four states are certainly some of your best options.