Charleston Regional Development Alliance

Berkeley, Charleston & Dorchester Counties

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Charleston recognized as top entrepreneurial location

Nov. 1, 2003
Charleston Post and Courier
By Frank Norton
Thinking of starting up a business? You may want to consider doing so in the Charleston area.

According to a recent ranking by Entrepreneur magazine, the Holy City and its neighbor North Charleston together are the second-best midsize market in the South for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to grow.

It's also the ninth-best market for entrepreneurial growth nationwide, though that figure represents a drop from last year, when it was No. 2 in both the magazine's rankings for the South and nation.

"Clearly, we've had layoffs in manufacturing," which could have slowed growth in smaller companies and explain the decline, said David Ginn, president and CEO of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. "I would still look at the new ratings as very positive, though, because to be ranked among the 10 metro (midsize) areas for entrepreneurs still speaks well for the region."

This year, Columbia and Greenville ranked eighth and 13th, respectively, among Southern cities and came in 22nd and 43rd in the United States.

The list, compiled using data from researchers at Dun & Bradstreet, was published in the magazine's October issue and is derived by analyzing four criteria:

-- Entrepreneurial activity, based on the number of businesses 5 years old or younger.

-- Small-business growth, based on the number of businesses with fewer than 20 employees that grew in size significantly between January 2002 and January 2003.

-- Area job growth, based on the change in employment figures over a three-year period ending January 2003.

-- Risk, based on an area's bankruptcy rate.

Charleston received its most glowing score, 85 out of a possible 100, in the entrepreneurial activity category, a well-above-average mark reflecting the area's boom in small-business starts.

The area also fared well in the business growth and risk categories -- meaning area companies are adding employees and face relatively little danger of goingder -- but received a middle-of-the-road rating in overall job growth.

"This is a world-class third-party endorsement of our market as a top competitive business environment," Ginn said. "I think it confirms our region's pro-business climate and quality of life, which are key to attracting and retaining investment."

He said Charleston's diverse economy, led by tourism, health care, trade and real estate, provides a strong mix of startup and growth opportunities for local and out-of-state entrepreneurs.

According to Ernest Andrade, who heads business development for the city of Charleston, the ranking also reflects the city's burgeoning technology sector, which he says has doubled in the past three years to 36 companies.

Most notable among the tech startups is Modulant, a Mount Pleasant-based data consulting firm started in 2000 that has about 115 employees. Other recent startups include structural engineering firm 4SE and Web consultant Sans Locus, both started in downtown Charleston in 2002.

"We were headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and moved here because it's a lot cheaper to run a headquarters office in the Charleston area than in California," due to lower employment and real estate costs, said Richard Gehling, Modulant's director of business development.

Andrade, who helped start the Charleston Digital Corridor, a recruitment program aimed at attracting information-based companies to the city, said he believes growth in the IT sector will pick up in 2004 as investors regain their confidence.

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