Entrepreneurial Goldmine

As a native New Orleanian, I know what a warm, friendly city feels like and can see the stark contrast when I visit beautiful, but cold-shoulder transient cities like Atlanta, LA or New York.  I’ve been living in Texas for almost 10 years and as weird as it feels to write this, there is this undeniable attraction about the entire state of Texas.  And I am not the only one who seems to think so. Texas boasts 3 top 10 cities and 5 top 20 cities (with El Paso sitting at #21, Texas would have 6 cities in the top 20 if you consider that Dallas and Fort Worth are one in the same), with the population growth of the state growing faster than any other state in the union.  So What?  Let’s peel the onion back and figure out if you were going to start a business tomorrow, why should you do it in the secessionist state. 

If you haven’t read my top 8 opportunities, this would be a good time to review.  There will be a test later! (Ten – Entertainment, Nine – Franchises, Eight – Home Schooling, Seven – Digital Signage, Six – Baby Boomers, Five – Business Process Improvement, Four – International Trade and Three – The Power of Green)

(continue reading…)

Thanks to the stimulas plan which poured billions into the energy space, the green movement is a place to be for entrepreneurs.  With many government incentives and positive public sentiment, socially responsible entrepreneurs are in demand.   Opportunity #3 can easily take on many different meanings, so let’s define what we mean by Green.  Unlike alternative energy that can be defined and put into a box, “going green” or for the green social entrepreneurs, any business built based on increased social responsibility related to caring for the environment, can be considered Green.  The assessment of this opportunity provides a quick perspective about the differences between alternative energy opportunities and green opportunities while outlining how entrepreneurs can enter the ever growing space.

(continue reading…)

Unlike the previous six business opportunities, #4 provides significant lead-time before the opportunity can be successfully realized.  Here’s the short story:  International trading, also known as import-export businesses, was amongst the hottest commercial trends of this decade.  American companies, 95% of which are small businesses, trade in over 2.5 trillion dollars a year in merchandise.  To further compliment the international trade trend, the expansion of the Panama Canal  will double the cargo capacity of the Panama Canal, allowing for more Asian cargo to move through the Gulf of Mexico, thus bypassing the traditional California-to-Railroad route.  This increased cargo through the Gulf has port cities from Galveston to Tampa preparing to snag a piece of the action.   How does this activity translate into an opportunity for you? (continue reading…)