Sarasota’s New Hope for Small Business

Sarasota residents may be proud to know that their fine community has made it to number 2 on the recent Go.Verizon’s “Best Small Cities to Start a Small Business” publication. Sarasota managed to beat out a respectable list of 300 small cities scattered throughout the United States.

Here’s the top 10 list of Go.Verizon’s Best Small Cities to Start a Small Business in:
Logan, Utah
Sarasota
Coral Gables
South Jordan, Utah
Doral
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Lehi, Utah
Taylorsville, Utah
Missoula, Montana
Corvallis, Oregon

According to the report, some of the attractions and highlights that Sarasota is able to offer small businesses and startups includes short commute times (compared to much larger cities), and a vibrant art scene. Go.Verizon is the online retail arm of the Verizon brand and its report is especially relevant to small businesses looking to not only settle in small cities like Sarasota, but also expand further via internet markets.

Go.Verizon’s Summation of Sarasota Makes for Interesting Reading

Go.Verizon took a close look at several features and factors in making their decisions, which included an overview of each city’s demographics, education, population, access to broadband, travel time to work, tax scores, income per capita as well as loans per capita and overall financial climate. While Logan, Utah took top honors, coming in second place out of 300 hopefuls is an excellent result, and reflects the culture and aspirations of Sarasotans as a whole.

With regards their findings of Sarasota, Go.Verizon’s summed it all up by saying that “It’s a good time to be in business in Florida, it seems — cities in the Sunshine State make up 30% of this list’s top 10 and nearly half of the top 50.What gives Sarasota the edge? Maybe it’s the shorter commute time than its fellow Floridian top-tenners, Coral Gables and Doral. It could be the rich, tourist-fueled economy and thriving cultural arts scene that draw not only snowbirds but also young entrepreneurs to the city, amping up the innovative atmosphere. Or maybe it’s the idyllic beaches spread along the Gulf of Mexico that make life for denizens feel like a constant vacation. Maybe it’s a little bit of everything.”

How Sarasota Can Inspire Entrepreneurial Spirit

What makes Sarasota such a great inspiration for entrepreneurs and small business owners? Perhaps the surveyors over at Go.Verizon summed it up already, “a little bit of everything”. These days, the survival of small business depends on being able to be flexible and diverse, not only in your range of products and services, but also in the markets you choose to promote your business in.

There are plenty of great examples of how relatively small business ‘blew up’ just by expanding their market share in smart ways. For example, the entertainment field is a highly competitive niche with seemingly little opportunity for a small entrepreneur to break through into. Yet, within just a few short years, Netflix has gone from relative obscurity, to taking on media giants across the globe. The company used to rent out physical copies of media, just like Blockbuster. However, it saw an opportunity for growth in the streaming market and hasn’t looked back since. Meanwhile, Blockbuster has just one store left in the world.

In a different field, the world of online casino gambling is rapidly expanding. However, an online casino firm Betway took steps to move into other sectors, despite its success. The company transitioned into other sectors like sports and eSports betting. It just shows that even successful companies can improve.

Betway is based in the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta, yet operates fully licensed platforms within the highly competitive UK markets, as well as expansions into North America and other key global regions. This is very similar to a small business or entrepreneur being based in a relatively small city like Sarasota, yet expanding their business interests in both the real world and the virtual. What it boils down to, is knowing how to keep your operating costs as low as possible, while still being able to maintain a highly efficient business model that allows for the necessary expansion into new markets. Ones that will guarantee that your business can grow from strength to strength, and ultimately take on the Netflix, Coca Cola’s and Betway’s of the world.

Photos from Deposit Photos