http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/springfield-recognized-nationally-entrepreneurship_80622.mp3
This week, Springfield was named the 24th best city in the country to start a business by Wallet Hub, a small business and personal financing website. KSMU’s Julie Greene has more on what this ranking means for local entrepreneurs.
The study surveyed the top 150 most populated cities in the nation, applying 14 different metrics like 5-year survival rate and employee availability. Springfield also placed within the top five of cities with the lowest cost of living, most small business lending, and cheapest office space categories.
“Our workforce is about 225,000 people in our metro area; ninety-five percent of that is made up of small businesses, so I think that should tell you the impact right there they have collectively.”
That’s Rob Dixon, executive vice president for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. He notes that small business owners played a big role in limiting the effects of the recession, while helping the area recover at a faster pace than other cities.
“From an overall employment perspective, we have recovered from the recession based on the growth of small business and certainly based on the growth and the strength from our larger employers as well. From a jobs number, we are back to where we were before the recession. Our unemployment rate today is under 5%, and most economists would consider that to be full employment,” Dixon said.
Jody Chaffin grew up in Springfield, and is now founder and CEO of The App Pros, a software and mobile app development company, and says he started his business here for a number of reasons.
“One, you’ve got the lower cost of living which helps with salaries and things like that. It’s just a good foundation here with the universities: MSU, Drury, Evangel, SBU, College of the Ozarks: there’s a lot of good young talent available as well,” Chaffin said.
Local startups also have access to services such as the eFactory, Missouri State University’s entrepreneurial and business center, which recently received the 2014 Corporate Investment and Community Impact Award by Trade & Industry Development Magazine. The eFactory joins 14 other recipients of the award, including Monsanto in St. Louis and the Cerner Corporation in Kansas City.
Related: Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander applauds small business growth and entrepreneurship in Springfield.
For Brian Kincaid, Business Incubator coordinator at the eFactory, these recent recognitions confirm what he’s already known.
“Entrepreneurship is a critical component of economic development, and it always has been for the Springfield region, when you start looking at success stories like Jack Henry, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Bass Pro, SRC. It’s part of our history and entrepreneurship is part of our culture, and as a community, now we have that momentum to continue to build something even greater,” Kincaid said.
Kincaid noted expansion of the Kauffman Foundation’s 1 Million Cups program to Springfield, which has drawn over 100 people each week since its launch last month. But given these recent accomplishments, there is still work to be done, says the Chamber’s Rob Dixon.
“We have a great business climate here in Springfield and in our region, but that isn’t something that happens by accident and it’s not something that is guaranteed forever, so we need to continue to ensure that we have a strong business climate today and to continue working on that in the future,” Dixon said.
For KSMU News, I’m Julie Greene.