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PLACE OF BUSINESS: St. Louis
COMPANY: Windows on Washington
CEO/FOUNDER: Thomas Klein
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Provides catering services
REVENUES: $1.7 million
EMPLOYEES: 200 part-time, 12 full-time
WHY ST. LOUIS?
"I placed my business in the city of St. Louis to take advantage of its neat architecture and good financial incentives," Klein says. "Unlike other cities, St. Louis proper has more reasonable rent than the suburbs. So I have an old turn-of-the-century building with multitoned marble, 18-foot Corinthian columns, and detailed millwork right in St. Louis."
DOES LOCATION MATTER?
"St. Louis provided everything that I would have wanted. It has historical significance, coupled with good economics and all of the amenities of a big city."

PLACE OF BUSINESS: Kingsland, Fla.
COMPANY: East Coast Concrete
CEO/COFOUNDER: Dan Blunier
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Makes concrete
REVENUES: $15 million
EMPLOYEES: 89
WHY KINGSLAND?
"My partner's lived in Kingsland all his life. He knew the people, he knew the community, and they knew him," Blunier says. "People buy from people -- that's why it works for us. We've learned that knowing the contractor makes a big difference in our success. We're opening up three more locations, and each is determined by what contacts we have in the area."
DOES LOCATION MATTER?
"Yes. In the concrete business, you're dealing with a very perishable item -- you've got only two hours to get it to the job site. So you've got to be close enough to metropolitan areas to deliver your product."

PLACE OF BUSINESS: Hiawatha, Iowa
COMPANY: Crystal Group
CEO/FOUNDER: Craig Jensen
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Manufactures industrial rack-mount computers
REVENUES: $21 million
EMPLOYEES: 90
WHY HIAWATHA? "It started with our relationship with a company that MCI later purchased, which does its software development nearby in Cedar Rapids and has a large presence there," Jensen says. "It's a high-tech center, and there's also a lot of smaller companies. In fact, it's our belief that per capita there are more Inc. 500 companies in Hiawatha than anywhere else. The city is very accommodating and provides a terrific infrastructure. The snow removal is great. Plus, we can drive to Chicago in three hours, and we have good airline service into Eastern Iowa Airport."
DOES LOCATION MATTER? "I don't think so. You should put your business where you want it. Location has very little to do with whether or not it will be successful. Business is about product, product, product, and filling a need. If you treat your customers well, they'll trek to the top of the mountain to get it."

-- Jennifer McFarland

A SENSE OF PLACE: AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID BIRCH

David Birch is president and founder of economic-research firm Cognetics Inc., in Cambridge, Mass. A former faculty member at the Harvard Business School and at MIT, Birch is renowned for the landmark research that first identified the critical role that innovation plays in job creation, particularly among small companies. The author of Job Creation in America and the Corporate Demographics series of information reports on U.S. companies, Birch is also a 1996 recipient of the Swedish government's NUTEK Prize for Entrepreneurship and Small-Business Research. Our Best Cities rankings are drawn from the forthcoming 1999 edition of his report "Entrepreneurial Hot Spots: The Best Places in America to Start and Grow a Company." Inc. spoke with him recently.

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