0:00 Who are you? And where are you going? What do you [Music] want? Hello and welcome to People Making Money. I'm your host, Kevin Bemmel, and I'm here every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time to talk about job hunting, starting and building a business and building wealth, all the financial aspects of our lives. And today, uh
0:39 well, for those of you who who watch the show, you know that I am a serial business owner, a serial entrepreneur. Um, I' I've started a number of businesses o over the years and uh in since uh 1986 I've the only person I've ever or the only time I've ever been an employee is when I was uh a chaplain in the United States Navy. So other than that I've I've worked for myself um you know all the rest of the time. And even when I was uh still in the a reservist in the Navy, my professional activities were
1:16 all self-employed. So uh you know, look, I I understand having a business isn't for everybody, but I I think that going forward as we deal with the the the challenges of an everchanging business environ or economic environment, I should say. uh face the challenges of what seems like ever more rapidly changing technology. Uh so I was uh a a good friend of mine was is is in town this week. We had dinner on Monday evening and we were
1:53 sort of after dinner sort of sitting back and reminiscing about the the changes we've lived through. He's about 10 years younger than me, a little little more than that. So when I started in business, okay, you had the telephone, landline telephone, okay? Now there were touchtone phones, uh but but when I was born, touchtone phones hadn't been invented yet. Only the rotary dial phones. So touchtone phones came in, I think, when I was uh like a pre-teen or teen, early teenager. But when I started my first company, there were only rotary
2:30 there were only telephones, landline phones and and uh actually I think there were and and around that time uh cordless phones came in right where you you could hold the the receiver but it didn't have to be attached to the thing to the the base. Uh and then after a few years, the fax machine came along. Uh a as did the uh and then the personal computer uh was just coming around when I started my first company in 1986. I remember uh a friend of mine
3:07 uh taking me to UCLA because he could get a teacher discount on one of the original Mac computers. It was about this this square and about this tall. Well, about this tall. You can't see it on the screen. Uh, and that was my first computer. It had the the floppy disc drive where you put the the little square floppy discs in it. And and that was my first, you know, personal computer. I think it had a whopping whopping uh like five kilobytes of memory or some crazy small number by
3:43 today's standards, right? So the personal computer was just starting to be used. It was not ubiquitous at all. Uh and then fax machines and then cellular phone. Oh, but then pagers came in, right? Where you know you you had this little thing attached to your belt and if somebody needed to get a hold of you in emergency, they would dial the pager number. It would it would, you know, beep beep or it would or it would vibrate. You'd feel it and then you could take it off and you'd see the number and you'd know to call that number back. And so you went to a pay phone which still existed in those days, right? And and you returned the call. Uh
4:21 originally those were only for doctors, but eventually they spread through all businesses. And then and then after pagers, I never had a Blackberry for whatever reason. Uh but but uh mobile phones came in, cellular phones came in. Originally they were huge. It was it was like a a briefcase about this big and about this tall. Um, and then they they got the brick phone which was about kind of, you know, this big by about this thick. And then of course, and then in 2007, right, Apple brought out the uh the smartphone uh and and and now now
4:56 we're looking at and and the time to integrate these into the business environment be has become ever ever quicker. So the time it took to integrate from uh for cell phones was maybe 5 to 10 years before they became pretty ubiquitous in business. I think for smartphones maybe a couple of years I I think at the most maybe three years something like that. and and now we're faced with the integration of artificial intelligence,
5:32 right? Which it'll be interesting to see how quickly that that gets integrated, but it's happening at a very rapid rate. And so I think one of the ways that we can deal with the rapid changes in technology is to have our own business where we make the decisions about what the business is going to do, how we're going to spend our our business and professional time. and we we can make the the changes, the shifts that need to be made in order to keep our
6:08 professional life, our business life viable, right? As opposed to working for an organization that, you know, things may change and one day we may get a pink slip because, you know, they don't need us anymore. So, especially for so-called knowledge workers, which is where there's been the most job growth here in the United States over the last probably 20 years. So, a lot of those jobs are likely to go away. So, my my friend who was in town uh who's in town this week, he's a data scientist, although he actually really is a a software engineer. That's the the
6:46 work he's actually doing. And he was explaining to me how recently he started using a new AI called Claude. Interestingly, he was the second person to tell me about Claude in in a week and how uh efficient Claude is in helping him code software. And you know, he he he even said that he could see very soon a time when basically Claude wouldn't need him to prompt to he wouldn't be needed to
7:21 prompt Claude to write the software that he was that he was writing. So and and this is someone who works at a very very high sophisticated level of software engineering. So if you know if someone like that is thinking that his you know knowledge work job it could potentially be replaced in the near term by AI. You know, what about the rest of us who work in, you know, knowledgebased businesses, whether it's, you know, processing insurance claims or whatever else, you know, whatever
7:56 else, wherever else information needs to be uh um processed, right? it appears that a lot of that may very well go away andor the number of people who need are needed to do that work could shrink dramatically. So, you know, look going forward uh it I for me and this is why I've I've always been self-employed or or had my own businesses. Uh it's because at least that way I rise or fall. I I make my own
8:33 decisions and I rise or fall on them and I'm not at the mercy, if you will, of another business owner or a supervisor or whatever. So, you know, food for thought, uh, you know, and and let me add that if if you're, uh, if you're working for a company right now that's not your own. So, that doesn't mean that you need to quit and start your own business and and take that kind of risk, but you can start a, you know, a so-called side gig and perhaps that can grow into a business
9:11 that you can join full-time. So you can make that transition. Now, if you're young, maybe just, you know, you're graduating from college. You know, it's already May. Isn't that mind-blowing? The month the year is, you know, over a third third gone already. But, you know, maybe you're you're graduating college uh next month or maybe you you know, you've been out of college for a year thereabouts. You're you're not really sure what to do. Uh, you know, there's there's lots of opportunity to start your own business and and and really set yourself up for the future with a lot of
9:46 independence and and the ability to build a life based on your terms rather than based on uh the the dictates of the company for which you work. So just wanted to I haven't shared that perspective I think in in quite a while on this show but but I will say that I am extremely bullish on people having their own businesses even if it's not their full-time uh you know that which supports them full-time. Uh it it it it is
10:21 enormously rewarding even beyond the financial aspects of it. So we the opportunity for personal growth is much greater when you own your own business in my experience. The opportunity to work with the people that you really want to work with is there when you own your own business because you get to choose your colleagues. So you know again it's it's it's it's your option. Whereas when you work for another company, uh unless you're at the
10:56 point where you're the hiring manager, uh you're not really going to get to choose with whom you work. Number one, and even when you're the hiring manager, there's still going to be constraints on you from above. So you may not be able to choose the person you you'd most like to work with. So these are the kinds of of freedoms that that having your own business gives you. uh freedom of schedule certainly. Now, you won't necessarily work less or have more free time. That won't necessarily be the case. What you will have is much greater flexibility because there'll be nobody
11:32 there saying no, you can't take the afternoon off to go watch your child play uh soccer. I was going to say, you know, football. Uh but uh you know, that flexibility is is is a wonderful thing. I I always appreciated having it. It's one of the main reasons why I wanted to have my own business because I wanted to be able to have the freedom to take care of my family as and when I needed to without having to, you know, check in.
12:07 So, uh, these are the kinds of things that I I encourage you to think about. Now, one last one, and this is I think this is one of the biggest misnomers. So, I think most people have the idea that if I start my own business, in order for it to be successful, inevitably I'm going to make more money than I would have made as an employee. That's not necessarily the case. And in fact, I think most small business owners wouldn't aren't necessarily making more money than they would have if they were working for another company. But the tradeoffs of what you
12:42 get in terms of freedom of schedule, opportunities for personal growth, being able to work with the the people you want to with whom you want to work. All of those are very valuable. And I think especially for from what I've read about younger people, I think younger people really value those aspects of life much more so than my generation did. So in my generation, the ideal was still graduate from high school, go to college, get a job, work, you know, the when I
13:18 graduated from college, the expectation was still you're going to work at that job for 30 or 40 years, you're going to retire, and that's because that's how it was without the college for my parents' generation. Uh, but that that whole system fell apart during my lifetime. the idea of working for the same company for 30 or 40 years and retiring. That that's that's a non-starter. Uh these days there's very very very few private sector companies uh for for which you you'll work and and for decades and end up and getting and especially end up getting a defined benefit pension, right? Your defined contribution
13:54 pensions are far and away the norm in the private sector. So, so, so these are the kinds of things that I encourage you to to think about to talk with your your friends and family, family members about and maybe figure out how you can start your own business, even if it's like I said, even if it's a side gig initially. So, the the other person I mentioned that two people had had talked to me about Claude in the last week. One was my friend who's in town. The other is a Navy colleague of mine who's getting ready to retire soon and he was looking
14:32 at a business opportunity and he got in touch with me. We we've over the years talked about various business opportunities that he's he's looked at and he uses Claude in his work for the United States Navy. He's a supply core officer. So, uh and and he was just rapturous about about Claude. So, I I downloaded Claude yesterday and I'm I'm going to start playing with it and and see what it is that people think is is so amazing about it. I I I've been using chat GPT now ever more regularly and for more and more things uh over the last
15:09 probably six months. Um but really embedded ever more into my work uh especially what I do on these shows. So, it's it's a tremendous uh help in in writing social media posts, in writing titles for uh the various shows that I do and and also for helping me organize my ideas and my notes. So, and in the case of today's show, I posed a number of questions to chat GPT that I wanted
15:44 it to use to research and determine what were the five best startup cities and and it did so. And then I I asked it some refining questions and it adjusted things. And so what you're seeing today or what I'm presenting today is they're they're my picks, but they were researched for me by my assistant chat GPT, who nothing against people, but can do the kind of research that I need much more quickly and efficiently than any
16:19 human being can. Right? The only way a human being could do it as efficiently is if they were using chat GPT themselves and then handing me the results, which I I don't need someone to do that. I can put I can do the input myself. So, here we go. We're going to talk about the top five US cities uh to start a business uh as of 2025, which is when I'm doing the show. Okay. So, uh actually, you know what? I'm going to start with number five. I was going to start with number one. Let's let's let's let's do it the uh um Dave Letterman way. He used to do the top 10 list and
16:54 he would start with 10 and move up to one. So, let's start with number five. So, number five is Nashville, Tennessee. Now, I've never been to Nashville. I know some people who have uh they love it there. I have been to Tennessee. It is an extraordinarily beautiful state. The people are really wonderful. I know the first time I was in Tennessee was in Memphis and at the time I was saying a special prayer for someone for a friend whose relative had died. It's called the cottish. And you can only do that with
17:29 what's called a minion, which is a quorum of of 10 men 13 years of age or older. And so I flew into Memphis and I had researched in advance where there was a synagogue I could go, Baron Hirs. And I went to the synagogue and I'm quietly, you know, do saying part, you know, being involved with the prayer service. And after the service was over, a man came up to me and and he he said, "Hello." And he introduced himself. And he he said, "I I haven't seen you around here." I said, "No, I'm just in town on business." He said, "Oh, what do you
18:04 do?" I said, "Oh, you know, real estate appraiser, blah blah blah blah blah." We chatted for a few minutes. He says, "Well, what are you doing for dinner?" I said, "I'm going to go to the grocery store and pick up some food and bring it back to my hotel." I was staying at the uh the Peabody Hotel where the with the famous ducks that march from the roof down to the fountain and back uh during the day. And he said, "Well, you got to come home and you'll have dinner with my family and me." Like, I'm a complete stranger. So, that's my impression of Tennessee. And and and again, the the natural beauty there is is really astonishing. Uh so
18:40 Nashville uh what's what's great about Nashville as a business startup location? Well, first of all, uh it's its post-pandemic job recovery has been superb. Uh payrolls have surpassed preandemic levels. Um the especially big gains in health care and information technology, right? So if if you are thinking about a business connected to those industries, Nashville is is is a a top place to consider. Okay. Skilled workforce. 41 and a half% of residents
19:18 hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Now why is that important? Well, I don't think having a college degree is important per se. However, in today's world, a bachelor's degree is essentially the equivalent of what a high school diploma was when I was at at a similar age. So, it it just shows you a certain level of academic accomplishment, not necessarily in terms of specialization, but you know, the person was able to get through 16 years
19:54 of school basically. That that's what it means. uh and so so 41.5% is uh higher than uh the national average. Okay. And then there's there is a a good startup support there. So Launch Tennessee at the Nashville entrepreneur center offers mentoring help funding funding resources. So there is there is infrastructure there to help businesses get started. Okay. and and that's why I think more businesses are are moving to uh Tennessee. So,
20:30 specifically to Nashville. Now, of course, uh when you when you go to or if you can are considering relocating to a city uh you know, in order to have a a a better startup atmosphere, right? Want to look at other things besides just the business climate. So Nashville, Tennessee has a great startup climate, fifth best in the country. In terms of the climate climate, right? So it's subtropical. Uh winters are around 45 degrees uh Fahrenheit. Uh and summers
21:05 are near 89. Okay? So, you know, you don't get cold winters. Uh you get nearly 47 inches of rainfall annually. So, the winters are probably uh wet, but uh not probably the winters are wet uh but they're not super cold the way they would be farther north. Okay. And the summers top out at about 89. I'm sure there's humidity there. It is it is the southeast, right? Okay. Cost of living and housing. So, cost of living is a little bit below the national average. The median home price is around $450,000, which is around the median
21:41 home price, the nationwide median home price. Average rent for a one-bedroom is about $1,500 a month. Now, if you want more information about these kinds of factors, I encourage you to watch the next economic echoes because I show you how to find uh uh median home prices, med or average rents in in any place in the country. Okay. So, I'm not going to get into that here. I have a different show for that. Okay? Or you can go back and watch one of the previous economic echoes. I do them every month. Okay. As
22:16 important as the business climate, the climate climate, and the cost of living is the social and physical activity scene. So, in in case you haven't heard, Nashville is the home of country music, right? It is famous for that. Uh, and so if if you are are interested in a music scene, uh, Nashville is superb, right? I think if I'm remembering, and I'm not a big country music aicionado, but I think it's where the Grand Old Opry is, if if
22:51 memory serves. So, uh, it's it's got, you know, live music, blues, and and and rhythm and blues, rock and roll. Okay, those are all in the music scene in Nashville. It also has a great deal a a great number I should say of parks and trails and and riverside uh greenways. Again, it's it's it's it's, you know, a very lush uh c uh country as in countryside uh to to to be in. And then finally, there's a rich night life,
23:27 fantastic food, all with a southern twist because uh again, Tennessee is part of the southeast. Of course, it was a border state during the American Civil War. Uh but but it is it is part of the South and it has that that southern vibe. So, number five, Nashville, Tennessee. Number four, Denver, Colorado. So, I have been to Denver, Colorado. I have relatives there, kind of distant relatives. Denver is a fabulous city. It's very walkable. It's growing. And uh uh you know, Denver just
24:06 as as a I'm sorry, Colorado, I should say, as a state also has a a tremendous amount uh going for it. think there's lot of lot of people I I have um some friends who uh Colorado they're they're they currently live in Virginia they want to leave Virginia their ties there now are gone and they're looking at two possibilities Florida and Colorado and u not not to knock Florida I'm frankly not a Florida fan uh Colorado between would be my choice between those two so why is
24:43 Colorado such a startup area or startup location. Or why is Denver, I should say, such a great startup location? Well, first of all, has a a diverse economy. Now, Colorado historically did not. it was really oil and and minerals and it was ranching. But over the the the decades uh in addition to energy and agriculture uh the uh other industries, technology, aerospace, healthc care have all grown
25:18 tremendously in Colorado and especially in Denver. So that diverse economy means that economically the state is much more stable than it has been historically and there's a lot more opportunity for various types of startups. So again, if you're if you're looking to do a startup in any of those major sectors, tech, energy, aerospace, healthcare, or agriculture, uh still remains a big part of of Colorado and and Denver being the the biggest city in Colorado. That's that's a place to consider. So,
25:56 Colorado has terrific entrepreneurial support as well. There's numerous incubators, accelerators, co-working space, and and and and there is there is an entrepreneurial vibe in Denver that you can almost feel it pulsing when you're in the city. So, it's it's a it's a younger population there than many other cities and and and and that that energy is the best way to describe it is is just there and and one shouldn't discount how
26:31 important that is to be among people who are building businesses is a tremendous benefit because it's kind of like we're all rowing in the same boat and and and we're all dealing with not necessarily the challenges and and so there's there's a collaborative a sense of collaboration that comes out of that. And then finally there Colorado is renowned for its quality of life which which balances uh urban with an outdoor lifestyle and
27:09 as and as I was mentioning a few minutes ago it attracts a lot of people. people just they they like anybody who wants an outdoor life but wants to be able to, you know, live in an urban setting as well. Colorado is really ideal or Denver, I'm sure, I'm sorry, is really ideal for that because you can be in the in the urban environment of Denver, but very quickly get to absolutely fabulous outdoor uh locations uh without having to go very far. Okay, in terms of
27:44 climate, so it's a semierid, meaning a semi- desert-like climate. Uh, winters around 45 degrees, summer is around 88. So, you can see in that respect, it's got a a similar temperature range to Nashville, but it receives only about 15 inches of rain per year, which is a third of what Nashville has. So that's why it's a semi-airid, right? Much drier climate. So if you don't like the rain, right, you probably don't want to go to Nashville, but Denver may be a great
28:20 alternative. Now, it is called the mile high city. It is Denver is over 5,000 uh feet uh above sea level and and that's where some of that arridity uh comes from. Okay. Cost of living. So it is above the national average. uh median home price is 400 sorry $580,000. Uh so you know a the national median home price I think is around $4304$440 in that range. Um excuse me and the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is 18 around $1,800 a month.
28:58 So you can see it's more definitely more expensive than Nashville. Okay. Now, in terms of the social and physical activity scene, well, first of all, you have access to the Rocky Mountains, some of the finest skiing you will ever find. I know I've skied in, I believe it was Breen Ridge. This is a long time ago. Uh, and and the the the skiing in the Rockies is fantastic. So, but for any kind hiking, backpacking, skiing, snowboarding, all of that is is available very close by to
29:34 to Denver. Um, I will add too that there are uh last time I it's it's been a while since I've been to Colorado, but there is also gambling if that's your thing in uh Creek and a couple of other former small mining towns that are up in the Rockies. And the casinos are small. They're they're they're they're fun, you know. I mean, I'm not a gambler, so it's it it's not my thing, but if if if that's something you like. So um that's available in the Rocky Mountains as well. So there is in Denver
30:09 a vibrant cultural scene, music, arts, food festivals, all of that is there. A a lot of innovation in in cuisine there. Uh sort of mashing up of different styles and such. So if you like good food, again, Denver's a fantastic place to be. And uh repeating something I mentioned a few minutes ago, Denver is very popular among particularly young professionals and and young professionals engaged in creative endeavors. So uh media and
30:47 um digital design, those kinds of fields, there is there's a big scene for that in Denver. So uh all of these things together make Denver the fourth best startup city in uh the United States. Okay, number three. I got to give it a little bit of a drum roll, right? Salt Lake City. So Utah, right next door to Colorado. So why is Salt Lake City a number three and a great uh startup city? Well, first of
31:23 all, uh it it's it's it's economically resilient. So, it's recovered 94% of the jobs lost during the pandemic. So, it's it's it's it's recovered. Um you know, other places like California, I'm not sure if we've replaced our pandemic jobs. I know our population has uh decreased uh um over the last uh few years. We actually lost one or two congressional seats. I I don't remember. I It's at least one. It may have been two. Right. So, California is not growing. It's not the golden state the
31:59 way it used to be. Uh but Utah is it's it's it's got a vibrant vibrant and resilient economy. It also is a very businessfriendly uh government there. So the Utah govern state government supports small businesses through proactive legislation. Workforce development u taxes are relatively low. Uh educational quality is is a high priority for the state of Utah. Um so you know if you have if you have children that are that
32:35 either are already in the school system or will be soon maybe they're very young but they're going to be starting school soon. The schools in Utah are superb. Okay. And it has a growing population which creates new market opportunities. Um and and also gives you access to uh people who with whom you can work. Okay. So those are the factors that make uh you Salt Lake City, Utah number three from a from a business standpoint. Now, climate like uh Denver, Colorado, it's semi-arid, although it is cooler uh in
33:12 the winter, approximately 30°. Summers are hot. Uh it can get up in the a 90s average. Okay, so in that respect, more like Nashville, but also like Denver, uh pre annual precipitation is pretty low, about 20 in annually. Okay, so that's why again, it's a semi-arid climate. All right. uh cost of living and housing. So, slightly above the national average in terms of overall cost of living. Median home price, $524,000. So, again, higher than the
33:47 median than than the national median, but not as high as Denver. Okay. More affordable than Denver. Average rent for a one-bedroom, $1,400 a month. Okay. So, again, more affordable than than than Denver. uh and and I think part of that is it's it's also it's a lower tax environment than Colorado as well. And then the uh social and physical activity scene well like Colorado and and Denver specifically Salt Lake City, Utah is renowned for its outdoor lifestyle,
34:23 hiking, skiing, biking. I I've never skied in Utah. I haven't had that opportunity. I would love to someday. Uh but uh you know the skiing there is is fantastic uh from what I've from what I've read. Uh and and you know whether it's uh Moab National Park um which has the just the the stark desert beauty uh the great salt lake the you know the the outdoor activities are almost unparalleled. Um you know maybe Colorado is is you know is is neckandneck with Colorado. Okay. Uh also there is a a a
35:02 vibrant uh cult cultural events uh life there. Uh the mural fest is there, music festivals. Okay. I think people tend to look at Utah and say, "Well, but it's a heavy Mormon population there. It must be very stayed and you know that kind of thing." First of all, Mormons are not stayed people. Uh I know when I was in high school, the big thing was to go to the Mormon dances, right? Uh and and and no, you you did not, you know, neck with your dance partner at a Mormon dance, which was probably a good thing. Uh but but they were they were fun and and uh
35:38 you know, they were great social activities for young people, but there was music and you know, parties and all that kind of stuff. They weren't they they just weren't they were you know, they weren't wild. They were within a nice range of enjoyment without the craziness. So I I wouldn't be uh I would be remiss if I didn't, you know, comment on that uh and and and you know that that that I think mistaken belief. Um, and then finally, and this is, I think, because of the Mormon influence in uh,
36:14 Utah, it's a very very Salt Lake City is a very familyoriented community, very strong sense of community and and that's that's a very powerful uh, aspect uh, to have uh, especially if you're going to be starting a business. It's good to have community support. It's good to have good friends around, to have support for your family because starting a business is challenging. And so you you you we need that in order to have the best chance at being
36:50 successful. And so if uh family is uh particularly important to you, uh I I don't think of of all the top five cities, probably Salt Lake City is is the best from from a family and community support uh standpoint. Okay, so all of those make Salt Lake City, Utah number three. Okay, number two. A little bit longer uh drum roll for number two, right? Okay. Raleigh, North Carolina. Okay. Now, I I have not
37:26 been to Raleigh. Uh I I I've been to um trying to think of where I was in North Carolina. It was back in 2018. I visited North Carolina. Um checked into my hotel and a storm came in and and hung out in my hotel room and and then drove drove back where I was staying in Virginia. Uh but uh Raleigh, North Carolina, what makes Raleigh, North Carolina such a great startup city? Well, first of all, the research triangle, which is its proximity to Duke University, the University of North
38:03 Carolina, and North Carolina State. Okay, all of that fuels innovation and provides a tremendous talent pipeline. Well, I hate I don't like the word talent. a tremendous pipeline of uh well-educated uh innovative people. Right? I I I would be remiss though if I didn't mention that. So, since I was in grade school, uh, when it when it was this was first pointed out to me that Duke University, uh, if you were to put the the initials
38:38 of the Duke University marching band on their uniforms, it would spell out DUB, dumb. Okay. I've I've always thought that was humorous for some reason. Uh, but but that is not to say that people graduating from Duke are dumb. quite to the contrary. Duke is kind of the Ivy League of the Southeast. And so, uh, you know, all three of these are among the finest universities, uh, in the United States. And the people graduating from them, highly educated and very innovative. Okay. High job growth in
39:16 Raleigh, North Carolina. 3.8% 8% annual job growth which is significantly above the national average. I think it's I want to say double or more the national average you know year after year. So there are people not only people are coming to Raleigh but they are finding jobs and that's a good thing. So you know you may have on your mind starting a business and your spouse is going to find a job. So the prospects are very strong in in Raleigh, North Carolina for being able to do that. And
39:53 then North Carolina has low operating costs, which can be a big advantage, especially for a startup. So it it has the second lowest corporate tax rate in the United States. LLC filing fees are 20% below the national average. So whereas here in California, oh gosh, the fee is I I want to say it's $80 or $100. And you say, "Well, that's not much." Yeah, it's not. But if you're starting a business, every dollar counts. Our the franchise tax fee for an LLC is $800 a year in California.
40:30 It's not that high in North Carolina. I if memory serves, it's around $3 $400 a year, something like that. So, it's a much lower business cost environment in North Carolina, which makes it a very businessfriendly place to consider a startup. Okay, so those are some of the reasons why North Carolina is number two on the list. And then climate. So, it's humid, subtropical, winters average around 50°, summers around 90°. Okay. You you you can see by the way that all of these startup cities that tends to be
41:06 the the temperature range. Okay. Uh cost of Oh, and and uh but it is a wet climate. So like Nashville. Uh annual rainfall 46 in. Okay. If you recall, Nashville was 47. So it's the southeast. The southeast is wet. It's also humid. Okay. So I if you're like me, I don't particularly like humidity. uh which is one of the reasons I I don't care for Florida. Uh but uh uh North Carolina is also very beautiful. It is the the a lushly green state like Tennessee. And
41:42 one of the reasons that's the case is because it has so much annual rainfall. Okay. Cost of living is below the national average. Okay. Median home price $410,000. Okay. That's below the national median. Average rent for a one-bedroom $1300. Okay. And if memory serves, yes. So, this is the least expensive city from a cost of living standpoint of the top five. Okay. And that can make a big difference. So, if if you if you really are committed to starting a business and
42:17 being successful, living in a lowerc cost environment, it makes it easier to be successful. So this is a something really worth considering. And then finally, like with the other cities, the social and physical activity scene. So uh North Carolina in general has a a growing arts and music uh scene, festivals all year round. Uh ne there's like all the other states we've talked about, there are extensive parks, trails. North Carolina also has a lot of outdoor activities, great uh parks and
42:53 all of that. And then also uh like Salt Lake City, Utah, North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina is very familyfriendly environment. It's got a a slower spa uh lower slower pace of life. It is it is a southern state, so it's got that southern vibe to it. And that that can be very nice for a family environment where you're not having to go go all the time like you would in a city like Los Angeles. And so again, if if family is very important to you. So Raleigh, North Carolina would be
43:32 another great choice. So Salt Lake City and Raleigh probably the two, not probably the two of the five, the two best from a a family standpoint. Okay. All right. So all those things make Raleigh, North Carolina number two on the list. And then finally, number one on the list, right? Okay, that's enough drum rolling. Uh Austin, Texas. Could you have guessed? Okay, if you're at all familiar with the startup scene, you you you you might have guessed that that Austin what would be number one. it
44:08 seems to be either number one or or in the top five year after year for quite a number of years now. Uh and and part of that is because Texas itself is an enormously friendly business climate. Uh just the state as a whole. Now, why Austin as opposed to say Dallas or Houston? Well, first of all, Austin is a major tech hub. It's home to companies including Tesla, Apple, and Oracle, some of the biggest technology companies in
44:43 the world. Okay. The city attracts billions of dollars in venture capital. And nearly half of all VC investment in Texas goes to Austinbased companies. Okay? And there is a tremendous amount of capital going into Texas. But like I said, to have half of it going to Austin when you also have cities you have Dallas, Fort Worth, you have Houston, you have San Antonio. So there's lots of places capital could be going in Texas. Half of it's going to Austin. So that's number one. Number two, again, a highly
45:20 like with umh Nashville, I believe it was. Uh it has a highly educated workforce. 38% of residents in Austin hold at least a bachelor's degree. Again, that's above the national average. Okay, there's a number of great universities there, including the University of Texas at Austin. Okay, and as I mentioned a moment ago, Texas has a very friendly business environment. So, it has no corporate or personal income tax. Okay? So uh you know very low tax
45:55 environment pro business uh state and local governments and the city is known for for strong support startup support networks there's all kinds of things going on there incubators uh accelerators all that all that kind similar in that sense to Denver Colorado so um you know there if you recall this is going back a few years ago So, there was a a sort of a a a verbal fight going on between uh Greg Abbott, the governor of
46:30 Texas, and Gavin Newsome, the governor of California, because uh uh Governor Abbott was enticing California businesses to his state. And and and Governor Nuome took umbrage with that as well. He might uh and and and but unfortunately, Texas is is is winning that particular battle. California is not a businessfriendly climate in wii in in which to start a company. So you may be asking why did you start a business in California then? And the answer is inertia. Okay? It's where I live. It's it's where my daughter lives. It's where
47:06 my friends are. And so you know there you go. All right. So those are the those are the things that make Austin the the from a business standpoint the number one startup city uh in terms of climate climate. So, it's it's humid, subtropical, like the South, although Texas does not consider itself part of the Southeast. Texas is Texas. I remember when I lived in Texas as as a kid, I I said something about Texas being part of the South and they said, "No, we're not. We're Texans." Okay. Okay. Fine with me. Uh but, uh the the
47:43 winters are are very mild, averaging 60 degrees. Okay. Summers are hot though, 95 degrees. So, and depending on where you are, like Houston, I don't care for Houston, frankly. It's too humid for me. Austin is nice. Uh so is San Antonio. Uh Dallas is is also pretty nice. So, uh in terms of uh in terms of humidity, not not so bad. Okay. Uh rainfall 35 in annually. So, it's it's it's wetter than Salt Lake City and Denver, but not quite
48:19 as wet as, you know, Raleigh and and Nashville. Okay. All right. Cost of living, excuse me. Uh overall, slightly above the national average. So, the median home price is right around $500,000. Again, that's above the national median home price. Okay. Average one-bedroom apartment is around $1,600 a month. So you can see it is on the higher end of the range of the five cities we've looked at, but by no means, you know, terrible. I mean, the average onebedroom here in Los Los Angeles, I think, is probably over 2,000
48:55 a month, right? Just to give you an idea. That's probably similar in in in New York or maybe even higher in New York. Okay. So, uh, even at $1,600 a month, that's that's, you know, not not bad. Okay. And then the social and physical activity scene. So, of course, Austin is the home of South by Southwest, perhaps the biggest music and tech festival in the country. Okay. Um, film festivals, music festivals are all part of the Austin scene. fabulous food
49:33 culture uh you know and and uh it's it's also uh a younger city similar to Denver. So whereas Raleigh and Salt Lake City are more familyoriented cities, Austin and Denver are more young people oriented cities. Okay. So much of the culture around Austin, notwithstanding that it is the capital of Texas, much around is is is oriented to more toward younger people. Okay. It also has a big uh out outdoor
50:08 scene. Uh Zilker Park uh sorry, yeah, Zilker Park. Yeah, I was I want to make sure I got the name right. Uh for hiking, running, biking, right? All of those kinds of outdoor activities. Okay. you know, not as robust as Salt Lake City and Denver, but certainly if if you like the outdoors and and and not having that available would would cross a city off your list, you can keep Austin on your list. And then finally, it hosts a lot of cultural events, food festivals, Latin dancing. You know, Cal Texas has a
50:43 a a Latino cultural background. Of course, at one time, Texas was part of Mexico, right? I've talked about that on my uh on my my other show, Business Lessons from the Military. And so, you have a very diverse cultural heritage in Texas. And and that that is something that really brings a lot of interest and and just plain flatout fun to to living in Austin. So, all of those factors together make Austin, Texas, the number one startup city in the United
51:18 States of America. So, there you have it. I'll I'll give them to you again. Number one, Austin. Number two, Raleigh, North Carolina. Number three, Salt Lake City. Number four, uh, Denver, Colorado. And number five, Nashville, Tennessee. So if you are thinking of starting a business and you want to find a a a startup friendly environment, I I urge you to consider these five cities, what they have to offer, their business cl their business environment, their the climate, the cost of living and the social and physical activity scene and find one that works for you and your
51:54 family and and there you go. You can be you too can become a business owner. So, I thank you very much for joining me, especially my live viewers. Always, always a treat to know you're there. And let's see, this is my last show for this week. So, next week on Monday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time is my show, Trust and Estates Weekly. My guest is Schulpa. Uh she's an estate planning attorney based in Orange County, California, and she's going to be talking about funding your estate plan, an absolutely essential task. In fact, there's no point in
52:29 having an estate plan if you're not going to fund it. Okay. On Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time is my show, Business Lessons from the Military. And on Wednesday, a week from today, will be the next edition of People Making Money. And then next week, Thursday, is my every other week show at 5:00 p. p.m. Pacific time. We'll meet you at Jiggers's place. We'll have a cocktail and talk about something not related to finances and professional lives. So once again, I thank you so much for joining me. Wishing you a wonderful rest of the
53:05 day and week and signing off as I always do. Marie darling, you are my bell. Courage at all times, my friends.