CNN Names OKC, Tulsa Among Best Places to Launch a Small Business

[dbacks fan]

Well, he didn't disparage it, but he added nothing constructive nor positive, so pretty close to a win, Dback.

After our season, that works for me.   

[cannon_fodder]

At the risk of dragging this thread back on-topic:

To me, this is good news and disappointing at the same time.  Tulsa needs to do better than 19th in the mid-sized market.  If you look around time many of our best companies are small-business startups of old:

BOK
OneOK
Helmrich and Payne
Williams Companies
Quick Trip

Nurturing small business not only encourages entrepreneurs to stay in your town, but it can lead to big business down the road.

What I never get is why Oklahoma City consistently ranks ahead of Tulsa on many of these lists . . . but you never hear of Tulsa looking down the turnpike and asking "what are they doing better."  I don't want to copy OKC by any means - but the indication is that they cater to small business better.  Let's find out how OKC does it and other communities and get ahead in the game (not commenting on the merit of the study, which very well may prove to be on a basis that isn't worthy of any sort of action). 

And at the risk of pooping on the thread, I admit to being disappointed that we are behind:

1    Huntsville, AL    395,645    8,995
2    Lafayette, LA    259,073    8,113
3    Omaha, NE    837,925    20,990
4    Clarksville, TN    261,220    4,136
5    Peoria, IL    372,487    8,520
6    Lexington, KY    453,424    11,248
7    Killeen, TX    378,935    5,574
8    Des Moines, IA    556,230    14,174
9    Baton Rouge, LA    774,327    16,860
10    Lincoln, NE    295,486    7,821
11    Jackson, MS    537,285    12,409
12    Lubbock, TX    270,610    6,571
13    Fayetteville, AR    443,976    5,856
14    Wilmington, NC    347,012    10,242
15    Durham, NC    489,762    11,007
16    McAllen, TX    726,604    10,028
17    El Paso, TX    742,062    12,488
18    Wichita, KS    603,716    14,091

[swake]

They ranked the top 50, 10 from cities over a million, 20 from cities from 250,000 to a million and 20 from cities with less than 250,000 people.

So, we are in the top 50 out of 363 metro areas. That's the top 15%, that's good. Look at the criteria for the survey and Oklahoma City's numbers are helped by having a decent economy. That's largely because to this point they have been shielded from the recession by their economy being so centered on government. With state revenues off 30% that asset is about to become a huge liability.

[FOTD]

Well, he didn't disparage it, but he added nothing constructive nor positive, so pretty close to a win, Dback.

The article is crap, no criteria and little support for what they did to arrive at these results. It's put out by Fortune magazine under a small business division further evidence of self service.  How much did our chamber put up to get on their list? It talks about state subsidized corporate welfare for InterGenetics in OKChity..."the biggest challenge is the prejudice of outsiders, who may think of Oklahoma City as some kind of tumbleweed town..." . NO!?OMG. You think so???
In the Tulsa category, those listed above Tulsa are more mediocre than medium cities.


Whew. There. You got it outa me.