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
STATE/LOCAL

State of Nevada Purchasing
http://purchasing.state.nv.us/
 
State of Nevada Homeland Security
http://homelandsecurity.nv.gov/

Clark County Purchasing
702-455-2897 Phone, 702-455-5428 Fax on demand
 
Washoe County
http://www.co.washoe.nv.us
 
City of Boulder City
http://www.bcnv.org

City of Carson City Purchasing
http://www.carson-city.nv.us/Index.aspx?page=112
 
City of Henderson
http://www.cityofhenderson.com/
 
City of Las Vegas
http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/Business/5990.htm?ID=#
 
City of North Las Vegas
http://www.ci.north-las-vegas.nv.us/
 
City of Reno
http://www.cityofreno.com/
 
City of Sparks
http://www.ci.sparks.nv.us
 
Housing Authority of the City of Las Vegas
http://www.haclv.org
 
Housing Authority of the County of Clark
http://www.haccnv.org/

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Purchasing
http://purchasing.lvcva.com
 
Management Assistance Partnership
http://www.mapnv.com
 
Economic Development Authority Western Nevada (EDAWN)
http://www.edawn.org
 
Nevada Development Authority (NDA)
http://www.nevadadevelopment.org
 
Northern Nevada Development Authority (NNDA)
http://www.nnda.org
 
Nevada Microenterprise Initiative
http://www.4microbiz.org
 
McCarran Airport Purchasing
http://www.mccarran.com/04_06_BusOpp.asp
 
Las Vegas Valley Water District Purchasing
http://www.lvvwd.com/html/biz_index.html
 
Clark County Sanitation
Phone: 702-458-1180

Southern Nevada Water Authority
http://www.snwa.com
 
Nevada Power
Rosemary Davis, Supplier Diversity
Phone: 702-367-5168   Fax:  702-227-2117 or e-mail: 
[email protected]

Southwest Gas
http://www.swgas.com/diversity/index.php
 
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)
http://www.unlv.edu/depts/purchasing
 
University of Nevada, Reno
http://www.howler.unr.edu/bcnpurchasing/Purchasing/HowTo.htm
 
Clark County School District Purchasing
http://www.ccsd.net/purchasing
 
College of Southern Nevada
http://www.csn.edu/bsf/
 
University Medical Center
Robert Griesche, Director / 702-383-2307
Dave Hammond, Purchasing Manager / 702-383-3165

Commercial Construction Contactors

Marnell Corrao Associates
www.marnellcorrao.com
 
Perini Building Company
www.perini.com
 
Martin-Harris Company
www.martinharris.com
 
J.A. Tiberti Construction
www.tiberti.com
 
The Penta Building Group
www.pentabldggroup.com
 
Clark Sullivan Constructors
www.clarksullivan.com
 
Sletten Construction
www.slettencompanies.com
 
Jaynes Corporation
www.jaynescorp.com
 
McCarthy Building Co
www.mccarthy.com
 
The Korte Company
www.korteco.com