A referral from a company in Chicago brought Rosa his first major client in Rhode Island. He hung on, and eventually the Rhode Island economy recovered and boomed -- in part because of the revitalization of downtown Providence. Today Advertising Ventures has 15 employees and draws 50% of its clients from Rhode Island.
It's quite possible, of course, that Rosa's ad agency would now be even bigger and more successful had he stayed in Boston. But he has no regrets. From his office in a now-chic neighborhood of renovated factory buildings, he can drop by for lunch with his parents. He runs into people that he knows on the street or in restaurants. He feels grounded, he says. And that makes him better at running his business, he thinks. "I wouldn't be the same person [somewhere else]," Rosa says. "I don't think I'd be as valuable to my clients. I became complete here."
Emily Barker is a senior staff writer at Inc.
Movers and Shakers
Big cities that blasted up the list
Since 1993 these large metro areas have shown the most improvement in their business climate.
| City |
1993-1994 rank |
1999-2000 rank |
Change |
| Phoenix, AZ |
26 |
1 |
+25 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX |
29 |
6 |
+23 |
| Memphis, TN-AR-MS |
25 |
7 |
+18 |
| Detroit, MI |
46 |
32 |
+14 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS |
33 |
21 |
+12 |
| Baltimore, MD |
39 |
29 |
+10 |
| Boston, MA |
44 |
35 |
+9 |
| San Antonio, TX |
27 |
20 |
+7 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL |
34 |
27 |
+7 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL |
36 |
30 |
+6 |
Source: Cognetics Inc.
Phoenix
Rank in 1999-2000: 1
Change in rank since 1993-1994: +25
Big reason for rise: Rapid population growth
Phoenix is the country's second-fastest-growing large metro area, with a 34% increase in population from 1990 to 1999. Phoenix also enjoys an overall operating cost advantage of 7% to 13% over cities of comparable size, according to Rick Weddle, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. And the region's high-tech roots are paying off. Large manufacturers have formed partnerships with local universities to create a more educated workforce, and refugees from companies like Intel have provided a ready source of employees for many start-ups, according to Tim Riester, president of Phoenix-based ad agency Riester-Robb. Plus, "you wake up every day, and it's beautiful," says Riester. --Mary Kwak
Movers and Shakers
Big cities that plunged down the list
Since 1993 these large metro areas have shown the biggest decline in their business climate.
| City |
'93-'94 rank |
'99-'00 rank |
Change |
| Greensboro-Winston-Salem, NC |
12 |
40 |
-28 |
| Seattle, WA |
15 |
37 |
-22 |
| Los Angeles, CA |
17 |
34 |
-17 |
| Portland, OR-Vancouver, WA |
13 |
28 |
-15 |
| Milwaukee-Racine-Sheboygan, WI |
7 |
22 |
-15 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL |
11 |
24 |
-13 |
| Nashville, TN |
5 |
16 |
-11 |
| Cleveland-Akron, OH |
30 |
39 |
-9 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
37 |
44 |
-7 |
| Rochester, NY |
43 |
49 |
-6 |
Source: Cognetics Inc.
Greensboro-Winston-Salem
Rank in 1999-2000: 40
Change in rank since 1993-1994: -28
Big reason for drop: Being overshadowed by boomtowns Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, N.C.
What North Carolina's triad area -- Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point -- seems to be missing is critical mass. Yes, the Triad has universities, venture capitalists, incubators, entrepreneurial networking groups, and other small-business support organizations. It just doesn't have as much as the neighboring Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill nexus has. "There is a sense of a brain drain from the 25- to 39-year-old demographic: people graduate from school, spend a couple of years here, decide it's a lousy place to find a mate, and move to Charlotte and Raleigh," says Michael Dougherty, president of Kindermusik International, which teaches music and movement to children. --E.B.
