Small cities, big entrepreneurial success
DEVIN WEEKS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years AGO
Post Falls has been ranked No. 7 in WalletHub's "Best Small Cities to Start a Business" report, released Tuesday. Pictured: The Post Falls water tower near the Spokane Street Bridge.
Photo courtesy of the city of Post Falls
Coeur d'Alene has been ranked No. 12 in WalletHub's "Best Small Cities to Start a Business" report, which came out Tuesday. Pictured: An evening cruise on Lake Coeur d'Alene near The Coeur d'Alene Resort.
Devin Weeks is a third-generation North Idaho resident. She holds an associate degree in journalism from North Idaho College and a bachelor's in communication arts from Lewis-Clark State College Coeur d'Alene. Devin embarked on her journalism career at the Coeur d'Alene Press in 2013. She worked weekends for several years, covering a wide variety of events and issues throughout Kootenai County. Devin now mainly covers K-12 education and the city of Post Falls. She enjoys delivering daily chuckles through the Ghastly Groaner and loves highlighting local people in the Fast Five segment that runs in CoeurVoice. Devin lives in Post Falls with her husband and their three eccentric and very needy cats. | April 20, 2023 1:07 AM
The River and Lake cities are making a splash in the world of commercial ventures.
Personal finance company WalletHub has ranked Post Falls No. 7 out of 1,334 cities in its "2023's Best and Worst Small Cities to Start a Business" study, released Tuesday.
"That’s attributed to the ease of doing business with our city," Post Falls Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Christina Petit said Wednesday.
She also points to the Post Falls Police Department's community policing model, through which the department develops strategies, conducts patrols if businesses have issues with break-ins and offers public safety programs and support.
"It's a proactive, problem-solving solution they have, and it's awesome," Petit said. "Another piece is how supportive our chamber is in supporting our businesses with education and other resources they need for either starting a business or expanding in Post Falls."
"I'm proud of Post Falls," she added.
Coeur d'Alene was not far behind its downriver neighbor, coming in at No. 12.
"Size matters when choosing a city in which to launch a startup," wrote WalletHub writer Adam McCann. "As many veteran entrepreneurs — and failed startups — understand well, bigger is not always better. A city with a smaller population can offer a greater chance of success, depending on an entrepreneur's type of business and personal preferences."
With 1 being the best and 667 the average, here is how Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls ranked using certain metrics:
Coeur d'Alene
153rd – Office space affordability
455th – Labor costs
27th – Average growth in number of small businesses
50th – Startups per capita
412th – Industry variety
Post Falls
37th – Office space affordability
563rd – Labor costs
27th – Average growth in number of small businesses
50th – Startups per capita
270th – Industry variety
Ahead of Post Falls were mainly Utah cities, including Washington, St. George and Cedar City in the first three positions, followed by Bozeman, Mont., in fourth and Logan, Utah, in fifth. South Bradenton, Fla., ranked sixth.
No. 8 is Fort Myers, Fla.; No. 9 is Lehi, Utah; No. 10 is Morrisville, N.C.; and No. 11 is Eagle Mountain, Utah. The next Idaho towns to make the list are Nampa at No. 28, Caldwell at No. 39, Meridian at No. 43 and Eagle at No. 69, with Rexburg, Twin Falls, Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Moscow and Lewiston farther down the list.
Info: wallethub.com
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Coeur d'Alene a 'Best Small City to Start a Business'
Coeur d'Alene Press | Updated 2 years, 11 months ago
ARTICLES BY DEVIN WEEKS
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Cruising around a tall pine with a small measuring tape, Ava Stone examined the numbers and wrote them down on a paper secured to her clipboard. "It's the diameter, and then you take a clinometer from the 66 foot back and then the 100 foot back, then you look up and get the height to find out the board foot volume," she said Thursday morning.