WalletHub Just Crapped In My Cornflakes, AGAIN!

I'll save you the trouble of reading this trash: If you can hear the Dwyer and Michaels Show on your radio, might as well leave your town for the big shiny city nearby.

Their poor excuse for research says that while small towns can be a great place to start a business, it can also be bad based on the type of business you choose. Well, no-shit Sherlock. They basically shrug their shoulders and say, "It depends" on 18 factors. 18? You hit 18 factors before you even have a name for your business. The article is just so random.

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Then they add their magic small-town generator to a map of the U.S., and not surprisingly, it would appear that the only place to start a business in their opinion is on either one of the coasts, with few exceptions. While they are quick to give you the top 30 places, pretty much anywhere outside of that is a lukewarm, risky undertaking. Have they ever BEEN to a small town, these fools?

So here's the cities that even have a ranking around here, but be prepared, businesses in these towns are probably boarding up their windows and bouncing checks as we speak.

• Iowa City: 189
• Quincy: 438
• Dubuque: 454
• Waterloo: 705
• Burlington: 749
• Bettendorf: 817
• Clinton: 940
• Rock Island: 911
• Galesburg: 1022
• Moline: 1094

I guess what pisses me off about these asshats that put these articles together, its that they take these qualifiers and generate the mindless lists, and the results mean little in the real world. Every city in the above list has had their share of small businesses open and succeed, or open and fail.

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Same with their top 30. It takes guts to go out on your own and start a business. And in this economy, I'd be celebrating anyone with the stones to step out on their own. And supporting them. That's what this article is missing in all it's numbers and stats. The people putting in the long hours and behind the scenes effort, in ANY city where the hang their sign.

I'd love to hear how you started your business recently, and how it's going. Send me an email and tell me. 

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