Hot spots for small biz: technology is still sizzling throughout the U.S. (Small Business Trends).In the Information Age, when it's possible to communicate instantly around the globe, it might seem anachronistic a·nach·ro·nism n. 1. The representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than chronological, proper, or historical order. 2. to suggest that one geographic location is better than another to start a business. But a national study is analyzing the hottest and fastest growing regional markets for minority-owned small businesses. Thomas D Thomas D. (born Thomas Dürr, December 30 1968 in Ditzingen close to Stuttgart, Germany) is a rapper in the German hip hop group Die Fantastischen Vier. He frequently works on solo projects. Life After finishing Realschule he took on an apprenticeship as a barber. . Boston of the Ivan Allen College, School of Economics at Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, Ga.; coeducational; state supported; chartered 1885, opened 1888. It is a member school in the university system of Georgia. Significant among its facilities and programs are the Frank H. in Atlanta heads the team of economists and researchers responsible for conducting the study. Boston explains the report is the culmination of about 350 African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. business owners in various regions and industries examining entrepreneurial trends over the last five years. Boston says his group is currently in the process of enhancing the study to include specific cities as opposed to just regions. Based on the study, technology is hot throughout the country with the Midwest, South, West, and Northeast checking in as the top regions. The study, slated to be released by the end of the year, has not yet concluded which areas are most profitable for African American businesses. So what makes a region hot for small businesses? In some cases, there's a boom in industries as a result of corporate outsourcing or workforce reductions in the marketing and public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most sectors. Increased government spending--which is often the case within the technology and construction sectors--can also be factors. And with rising pressure on government agencies to increase the number of contracts granted to minority- and women-owned businesses, opportunities abound. Other factors include subcontracting opportunities from large businesses and a diverse and skilled workforce population. Boston, a member of the BLACK ENTERPRISE Board of Economists, says the findings reflect the current trend of the nation's economy and the continued interest in computer software, technology, and communication sectors. Entrepreneurs, Boston says, are launching their businesses in increasing numbers in these sectors. "African Americans are starting businesses in the most popular industries and in the regions of the country that will enable their businesses to grow and prosper," he says. Though the tech wreck shook many corporate giants, it remains a viable industry for the entrepreneur. Martin Burrell Martin Burrell (October 15 1858 – March 20 1938) was a Canadian politician. Born in Faringdon, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), England, Burrell emigrated to Canada as a young man, where he eventually became a fruit grower on a farm about two miles east of Grand Forks, , vice president of minority affairs at the American Airlines Center For the arena in Miami, Florida, see . Current arenas in the National Basketball Association Western Conference Eastern Conference in Dallas, home of the Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to 1993, the team was known as the Minnesota North Stars. and Mavericks, says the results from Boston's study are not surprising. Burrell is the senior executive in charge of ensuring that minority-owned firms get a fair share of the lucrative construction and service contracts at the center. Burrell, who has held his position since 1998, says the boom in minority-owned businesses in the region is obvious and has been apparent for several years. For example, developers' contracts with the city require that women- and minority-owned companies get nearly one third of the work. Although location is important, it's not the only factor, warns James Frommel, chairman of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a small business counseling and education program partnering with the Small Business Administration. He says that while locale and tapping a niche market A niche market also known as a target market is a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector. By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. can sink or sail a small business, other issues such as solid funding resources play a role. "A new business can have the most advanced technology around and be located in the most business-friendly city in the country," he says. "But without old-fashioned business sense, today's entrepreneur can be tomorrow's failure" Hot Industries For African American Entrepreneurs Thomas Boston Thomas Boston (March 17, 1676 - May 20, 1732), was a Scottish church leader. He was born at Duns. His father, John Boston, and his mother, Alison Trotter, were both Covenanters. He was educated at Edinburgh, and licensed in 1697 by the presbytery of Chirnside. , a member of the BLACK ENTERPRISE Board of Economists, analyzed African American business startups over the past five years to determine which industries and regions showed the most growth. "I suspect that if I were to compare these statistics to majority-owned firms, the results would be similar." west * Maintenance * Janitorial services * Information technology REASON: These sectors tend to do well during sluggish times because of corporate downsizing (1) Converting mainframe and mini-based systems to client/server LANs. (2) To reduce equipment and associated costs by switching to a less-expensive system. (jargon) downsizing and outsourcing. midwest * Computer programming * Data processing data processing or information processing, operations (e.g., handling, merging, sorting, and computing) performed upon data in accordance with strictly defined procedures, such as recording and summarizing the financial transactions of a REASON: These industries benefited from the boom economy in the late '90s and the increased demand for computer-related services, notheast * Publishing * Marketing REASON: These are among the industries that benefit from corporate downsizing and outsourcing. south * Construction * Architectural design This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007. * Engineering REASON: These are among the industries that benefit during an expanding economy, such as in the 1990s. |
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