The 7 Best States to Start a Business
Ranking the states based on how friendly they are to entrepreneurs

When it comes to starting a business, the question of "where" can be just as important as "what," "why," and "how." Some states offer better business climates for entrepreneurs than others. And in today's economy, entrepreneurs need all the help they can get when launching a new business.

U.S. News decided to look at two comprehensive studies that take completely different approaches to measuring the friendliness of the 50 states to entrepreneurs: the
2008 New State Economy Index, by the Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, and the Small Business Survival Index 2008, by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council. 

They combined the rankings of these two studies to help come up with their list of the top seven states for starting a business. Click here to learn what they found.

Nevada Ranks #2 in Business Survival Index 
December 9, 2008--The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) released its 13th annual rankings of the states according to their public policy climates for small business and entrepreneurship in the "
Small Business Survival Index 2008: Ranking the Policy Environment for Entrepreneurship Across the Nation."

SBE Council chief economist Raymond J. Keating, author of the study, said: "The U.S. economy is in a serious downturn, and the outlook for a robust recovery seems remote. That means state and local policymakers face some very difficult decisions, especially on budget matters. Depending on the policy course that state lawmakers choose, they can either make the economic situation in their own state better or far worse."

In terms of their policy environments, the most entrepreneur-friendly states under the "Small Business Survival Index 2008" are: 1) South Dakota, 2) Nevada, 3) Wyoming, 4) Florida, 5) Washington, 6) Texas, 7) South Carolina, 8) Alabama, 9) Virginia, and 10) Colorado. The more difficult state policy environments for entrepreneurs include: 40) West Virginia, 41) Hawaii, 42) Iowa, 43) Vermont, 44) Massachusetts, 45) New York, 46) Minnesota, 47) Rhode Island, 48) Maine, 49) California, 50) New Jersey and 51) District of Columbia.

What CEOs are saying about Nevada
When Development Counsellors International (DCI) conducted its survey last summer, CEOs ranked Nevada as the 5th best business climate in the U.S. 
Click here to read what CEOs are saying about Nevada.  To download a copy of the full report, visit DCI's website by clicking here.

 
 
 

Procurement Outreach
FEDERAL

Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR's)
http://www.arnet.gov/far

Nellis AFB
http://www.nellis.af.mil

U.S. Dept. of Interior/Bureau of Reclamation/Lower Colorado Region
http://www.usbr.gov/lc/

National Security Technologies LLC
www.nstec.com

Bechtel Nevada SAIC
http://www.bscupdate.com

Bureau of Land Management Interagency Fire Contracting
http://www.blm.gov/natacq/FIRE/contracting.html

Hawthorne Army Depot
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/hawthorne.htm

Fallon Naval Air Station
https://www.cnic.navy.mil/fallon/index.htm

Contract Services Association – Government Contracting
http://www.csa-dc.org/resources/resources.asp

SIC/NAICS Conversion site
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html

Sierra Army Depot
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Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM)
http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/

Federal Business Opportunities
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Government Contracting
http://www.govcon.com

Small Business Administration (SBA)
http://www.sba.gov/
http://www.sba.gov/GC
http://www.women-21.gov

SBA Small Business Size Standards
http://www.sba.gov/size

Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU)
http://www.osdbu.dot.gov/

Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) - brochure
http://www.doi.gov/osdbu/brochure%20for%20SmBus.pdf

Defense Supply Center Columbus (DSCC)
http://www.dscc.dla.mil

Federal Acquisition Jumpstation
http://www.thecre.com/fedlaw/legal25/fedproc.htm

General Services Administration (GSA)
http://www.gsa.gov/

Dept. of Energy (DOE)
http://www.energy.gov/
http://www.pr.doe.gov

Dept of Energy (Yucca Mountain Project)
Marcelle Glover    702-794-5532

Commerce Business Daily (CBD)
http://cbdnet.access.gpo.gov

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
http://www.epa.gov

Dept. of Interior-Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization
http://www.doi.gov/osdbu

Global Security
http://www.globalsecurity.com

Homeland Defense Journal
http://www.homelanddefensejournal.com

Defend America
http://www.defendamerica.mil

Minority Business Entrepreneur Magazine
http://www.mbemag.com

US Army Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command
http://www.tacom.army.mil/

Dept. of Defense-Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
http://www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu

Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
http://www.dla.mil

Dept. of Defense Subcontractor Directory
http://www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/publications/subdir/index.html

Government Procurements
http://progate.daps.dla.mil/home

Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS)
http://www.ppirs.gov

Nevada National Guard – Army and Air
http://www.nv.ngb.army.mil

Air Force MWR Sales
http://www.afnafpo.com

Army MWR Sales
http://www.armymwr.com

Navy MWR Sales
http://www.mwr.navy.mil

Marine Corp MWR Sales
http://www.usmc-mccs.org

Defense Commissary Agency
http://www.commissaries.com/business/contracting.cfm

Business to Government Market
http://www.b2gmarket.com/opp/sl_simplesearch.cfm

Doing Business with Nevada Test Site:
http://www.doe.gov
http://www.nv.doe.gov
http://www.nnsa.doe.gov
http:// www.nstec.com

DOE/Nevada Test Site Procurement Forecast:
http://hqlnc.doe.gov/Forecast

Interior Department Electronic Acquisition System (IDEAS)
http://www.doi.gov/pam/ideahome.html

US Army Corps of Engineers
Transatlantic Programs Center
http://www.tac.usace.army.mil

US Department of Agriculture / Rural Development
Lauren Heater, Business - Cooperative Specialist
702-262-9047 ex 114 or 702-335-6200
 
[email protected]

Miscellaneous:
Washington Technology
http://www.washingtontechnology.com

Government Federal Grants
http://www.GovernmentFederalGrants.com

Bar Code Software Site
http://www.asset-trak.com