California-Texas-Florida and the Carolinas Dominate US. Small Business Growth

Much of the country could borrow a page from cities throughout California, Texas, Florida, and the Carolinas, which accounted for 30 of the top 50 markets with the highest growth rates in the number of small businesses for the six years through 2003, according to the State of Small Business Report by Sales Genie (www.salesgenie.com), America's largest business and consumer marketing database.

While the number of small businesses in the nation's Top 100 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) grew an average of 18.6 percent, only 23 MSAs saw consistent growth during the same time, according to the report, which classified a small business as a company with 1 to 500 employees, as well a registered address and telephone number.

Conversely, more than half of the MSAs (55) across the United States suffered declines from 2002 to 2003, even as the economy was beginning to rebound, said Vinod Gupta, creator of salesgenie.com, a small business sales lead database and a division of infoUSA, which Gupta founded 32 years ago.

"The numbers are stunning because they show an extremely positive trend from 1998 to 1999, and even into 2000," said Gupta, adding that small businesses are the engine of the U.S. economy. "But, then the number of small businesses began to slip, as annual increases began dropping from 8.2 percent growth in 2000, to 4.7 percent in 2001, to 2.4 percent in 2002, and, eventually, to a loss of -0.6 percent - that's nearly 46,000 small businesses lost -- in 2003 alone."

Many of the MSAs in California, Texas, Florida and the Carolinas experienced growth rates ranging from 19.7 percent to 32.9 percent during the six-year period studied. (See attached grid.) However, the number one market for small business growth was the Las Vegas region, which saw the number of small businesses soar to 73,163 in 2003 from 46,170 in 1998, a growth rate of 58.5 percent.

Among the nation's largest markets with 100,000 small businesses or more, only seven of the Top 25 MSAs showed consistent, annual growth in the number of small businesses from January 2000 through December 2003. Those markets are Riverside, CA; Orange County, CA; San Diego, CA; Washington D.C.; Los Angeles, CA; Tampa, FL; and, St. Louis, MO.

"This is excellent news for these large markets because they represent anywhere from 108,000 to 409,000 small business in their respective regions, and reflect strong levels of innovation and entrepreneurship, which are needed to continue driving the American economy forward."

Gupta, who has long provided products and services for small businesses of all shapes and sizes, said American small businesses will have many new opportunities in 2005 and beyond, but it also will face serious challenges as well.

"For example, our population overall is getting older," he said. "This presents all kinds of opportunities to provide new products and services across all industries to the 65-and-older population. Especially as we grow more diverse, there will be many more opportunities for minorities, including women-owned businesses and Black, Hispanic, and Asian entrepreneurs.

"We're already seeing those benefits in many of our largest markets that are racially and culturally diverse," he added.

As for challenges, Gupta urged federal legislators to continue being sensitive to the needs of small businesses and entrepreneurs through their support for the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which encourages entrepreneurial success by requiring federal agencies to consider their impact on small business before they issue final regulations.

Additionally, he also encouraged governors and state lawmakers to adopt similar provisions at the state level to continue fostering small business instead of making it more difficult for them to successfully operate. He also cited foreign export barriers, tax laws, and other provisions could help stall a small business rebound in 2005.

Giovanni Coratolo, director of small-business policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said efforts by state and local governments can have a profound impact on the number of small businesses and their survival rate.

"Although many factors contribute to an entrepreneur's decision to make the plunge into small business ownership, conscious efforts on behalf of government officials in cities, regions and states to create and environment that will foster the growth and stability of their small business community," he said. "Fundamentals like regulation, tort reform, taxes, and a business friendly climate always matter. Entrepreneurs will try to eliminate as much downside risk as possible when choosing where to locate their next venture."

Sales Genie (www.salesgenie.com) is web-based software for mining sales-lead information from infoUSA's (NASDAQ: IUSA - News) databases, the richest, most accurate, and up-to-date in the industry. It is the only company to own a proprietary database of 250 million consumers, 14 million businesses, and several other specialty databases all under one roof.

Sales Genie State of Small Business
Small Business Growth 1998-2003 for Top 100 U.S. MSAs
======================================================================

Rank MSA 1998 1999 2000 2001
======================================================================
1 LAS VEGAS, NV 46,170 49,739 55,838 65,531
======================================================================
2 RIVERSIDE, CA 83,342 93,170 97,740 103,406
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3 FT LAUDERDALE, FL 60,965 67,040 73,036 75,399
======================================================================
4 DAYTONA BEACH, FL 17,580 18,981 20,829 21,635
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5 MELBOURNE, FL 17,688 19,113 19,337 21,802
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6 W. PALM BEACH, FL 47,574 51,197 56,695 60,767
======================================================================
7 SARASOTA, FL 25,091 28,249 29,110 30,505
======================================================================
8 ORLANDO, FL 66,588 68,605 77,833 83,925
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9 FORT MYERS, FL 20,734 20,676 23,460 24,780
======================================================================
10 RALEIGH, NC 45,842 48,237 54,759 57,874
======================================================================
11 SACRAMENTO, CA 59,418 61,850 67,454 69,441
======================================================================
12 AUSTIN, TX 50,516 52,894 60,846 65,919
======================================================================
13 SANTA ROSA, CA 21,288 21,904 22,652 24,632
======================================================================
14 ATLANTA, GA 144,041 155,398 181,701 174,383
======================================================================
15 MONMOUTH, NJ 41,769 52,111 58,433 58,286
======================================================================
16 ORANGE CO., CA 114,096 117,552 130,306 136,309
======================================================================
17 HARTFORD, CT 47,453 47,449 49,208 57,894
======================================================================
18 VENTURA, CA 25,175 26,853 27,879 28,367
======================================================================
19 PHOENIX, AZ 96,177 96,834 113,736 112,761
======================================================================
20 DALLAS, TX 136,034 139,193 163,092 169,318
======================================================================
21 KNOXVILLE, TN 29,241 30,619 32,927 36,315
======================================================================
22 COLUMBIA, SC 21,065 22,414 24,883 25,652
======================================================================
23 WILMINGTON, DE 21,399 23,844 26,276 26,917
======================================================================
24 JACKSONVILLE, FL 40,447 40,895 46,787 48,839
======================================================================
25 STAMFORD, CT 20,575 20,943 24,107 26,550
======================================================================
26 SAN DIEGO, CA 102,687 111,997 112,664 115,258
======================================================================
27 HOUSTON, TX 156,738 160,485 180,594 192,235
======================================================================
28 NEW HAVEN, CT 22,968 23,580 24,331 25,302
======================================================================
29 BAKERSFIELD, CA 19,408 20,716 22,300 22,757
======================================================================
30 MIDDLESEX, NJ 41,351 42,806 48,209 48,951
======================================================================
31 WASHINGTON D.C. 191,877 200,251 226,531 232,979
======================================================================
32 COL. SPRINGS, CO 19,637 20,342 20,300 22,878
======================================================================
33 LOS ANGELES, CA 333,107 348,748 380,098 398,593
======================================================================
34 CHARLOTTE, NC 58,305 58,754 66,211 71,678
======================================================================
35 ALBUQUERQUE, NM 28,366 29,132 33,056 33,916
======================================================================
36 FT WORTH, 58,679 61,619 66,494 71,527
======================================================================
37 FRESNO, CA 29,627 31,152 32,439 34,503
======================================================================
38 TACOMA, WA 20,882 21,611 21,294 24,123
======================================================================
39 NASHVILLE, TN 47,308 54,202 56,683 53,998
======================================================================
40 PORTLAND, OR 76,381 76,809 83,590 83,283
======================================================================
41 CHARLESTON, SC 21,808 21,997 25,155 25,715
======================================================================
42 GREENVILLE, SC 34,884 36,034 37,183 41,064
======================================================================
43 GREENSBORO, NC 49,483 51,361 58,189 59,151
======================================================================
44 OAKLAND, CA 88,721 89,921 99,461 99,743
======================================================================
45 GRAND RAPIDS, MI 41,727 42,496 46,696 46,561
======================================================================
46 SAN ANTONIO, TX 55,626 56,945 60,197 62,055
======================================================================
47 TAMPA-ST. PETE, FL 90,563 91,142 94,376 99,358
======================================================================
48 NEWARK, NJ 83,535 91,563 106,313 109,352
======================================================================
49 BATON ROUGE, LA 23,461 23,640 26,794 27,709
======================================================================
50 OMAHA, NE 27,288 27,681 30,505 29,884
======================================================================
51 LOUISVILLE, KY 37,106 37,335 43,047 44,412
======================================================================
52 MIAMI, FL 94,079 92,175 93,630 111,742
======================================================================
53 MINN.-ST. PAUL, MN 106,692 109,913 120,986 128,185
======================================================================
54 LITTLE ROCK, AR 24,975 25,622 28,583 28,578
======================================================================
55 ANN ARBOR, MI 22,763 23,701 26,516 28,392
======================================================================
56 SEATTLE, WA 100,442 105,783 109,929 110,441
======================================================================
57 SYRACUSE, NY 29,313 31,384 33,198 32,283
======================================================================
58 MOBILE, AL 21,510 23,742 24,168 24,506
======================================================================
59 DENVER, CO 86,489 86,191 85,068 84,606
======================================================================
60 ALLENTOWN, PA 23,395 23,823 24,761 26,358
======================================================================
61 BALTIMORE, MD 91,270 90,808 104,119 99,839
======================================================================
62 BIRMINGHAM, AL 34,781 35,450 37,607 42,354
======================================================================
63 KANSAS CITY, MO 67,870 67,471 74,916 77,454
======================================================================
64 RICHMOND, VA 39,230 39,931 45,545 42,640
======================================================================
65 INDIANAPOLIS, IN 57,915 58,665 64,803 68,909
======================================================================
66 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 46,737 46,984 52,589 54,661
======================================================================
67 TUCSON, AR 27,622 29,443 30,872 31,627
======================================================================
68 SAN JOSE, CA 65,999 69,006 70,744 72,125
======================================================================
69 MEMPHIS, TN 40,051 40,783 46,021 48,195
======================================================================
70 TULSA, OK 34,995 34,942 38,131 38,459
======================================================================
71 BERGEN, NJ 57,683 60,383 65,779 67,572
======================================================================
72 NORFOLK, VA 51,935 50,833 52,636 58,398
======================================================================
73 AKRON, OH 25,685 25,811 27,720 29,546
======================================================================
74 ST LOUIS, MO 97,164 96,565 100,870 104,822
======================================================================
75 PHILADELPHIA, PA 193,604 197,829 213,900 232,294
======================================================================
76 HARRISBURG, PA 25,630 26,250 28,525 28,918
======================================================================
77 MILWAUKEE, WI 59,114 58,352 64,128 68,502
======================================================================
78 WICHITA, KN 21,871 21,581 23,833 25,022
======================================================================
79 NEW YORK, NY 343,173 331,864 353,796 420,570
======================================================================
80 ROCHESTER, NY 40,430 40,675 42,017 44,591
======================================================================
81 COLUMBUS, OH 60,701 59,070 67,162 69,637
======================================================================
82 CLEVELAND, OH 91,177 97,705 100,902 102,823
======================================================================
83 NEW ORLEANS, LA 52,818 52,383 53,451 55,248
======================================================================
84 SCRANTON, PA 26,366 27,386 29,592 29,163
======================================================================
85 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 100,437 102,113 106,974 105,838
======================================================================
86 PITTSBURGH, PA 92,491 93,809 96,711 110,775
======================================================================
87 BOSTON, MA 169,783 167,659 191,260 192,985
======================================================================
88 YOUNGSTOWN, OH 22,134 23,384 24,296 24,644
======================================================================
89 TOLEDO, OH 23,986 23,984 26,665 26,702
======================================================================
90 SPRINGFIELD, MA 23,808 23,977 24,269 25,691
======================================================================
91 DETROIT, MI 161,898 160,245 166,361 172,717
======================================================================
92 ALBANY, NY 35,370 35,972 38,858 38,815
======================================================================
93 CINCINNATI, OH 63,576 67,926 68,505 72,504
======================================================================
94 CHICAGO, IL 313,210 321,110 332,703 337,505
======================================================================
95 SALT LAKE CITY, UT 50,201 54,744 56,881 54,886
======================================================================
96 DAYTON, OH 35,706 35,694 36,555 39,127
======================================================================
97 HONOLULU, HI 32,491 32,187 31,984 34,751
======================================================================
98 PROVIDENCE, RI 47,491 47,321 48,232 48,564
======================================================================
99 NASSAU, NY 117,712 121,926 125,544 134,051
======================================================================
100 BUFFALO, NY 40,355 40,205 41,695 44,621
======================================================================
TOTAL 6,555,919 6,742,839 7,295,624 7,636,828
======================================================================
NATIONAL GROWTH 186,920 552,785 341,204
======================================================================
% GROWTH/DECLINE 2.9% 8.2% 4.7%
======================================================================


Growth
Rank MSA 2002 2003 since '98
======================================================================
1 LAS VEGAS, NV 68,131 73,163 58.5%
======================================================================
2 RIVERSIDE, CA 112,806 116,013 39.2%
======================================================================
3 FT LAUDERDALE, FL 83,932 83,956 37.7%
======================================================================
4 DAYTONA BEACH, FL 23,291 24,201 37.7%
======================================================================
5 MELBOURNE, FL 23,243 24,248 37.1%
======================================================================
6 W. PALM BEACH, FL 62,157 65,126 36.9%
======================================================================
7 SARASOTA, FL 33,680 33,752 34.5%
======================================================================
8 ORLANDO, FL 90,134 89,150 33.9%
======================================================================
9 FORT MYERS, FL 25,929 27,721 33.7%
======================================================================
10 RALEIGH, NC 61,556 61,272 33.7%
======================================================================
11 SACRAMENTO, CA 79,919 79,348 33.5%
======================================================================
12 AUSTIN, TX 69,044 67,383 33.4%
======================================================================
13 SANTA ROSA, CA 27,972 28,129 32.1%
======================================================================
14 ATLANTA, GA 180,480 187,853 30.4%
======================================================================
15 MONMOUTH, NJ 51,661 54,018 29.3%
======================================================================
16 ORANGE CO., CA 144,508 146,060 28.0%
======================================================================
17 HARTFORD, CT 63,148 60,582 27.7%
======================================================================
18 VENTURA, CA 32,343 32,133 27.6%
======================================================================
19 PHOENIX, AZ 125,640 122,746 27.6%
======================================================================
20 DALLAS, TX 180,676 171,881 26.4%
======================================================================
21 KNOXVILLE, TN 37,155 36,780 25.8%
======================================================================
22 COLUMBIA, SC 26,325 26,442 25.5%
======================================================================
23 WILMINGTON, DE 24,896 26,833 25.4%
======================================================================
24 JACKSONVILLE, FL 48,430 50,564 25.0%
======================================================================
25 STAMFORD, CT 26,276 25,651 24.7%
======================================================================
26 SAN DIEGO, CA 125,862 127,754 24.4%
======================================================================
27 HOUSTON, TX 196,048 193,238 23.3%
======================================================================
28 NEW HAVEN, CT 28,493 28,316 23.3%
======================================================================
29 BAKERSFIELD, CA 24,296 23,921 23.3%
======================================================================
30 MIDDLESEX, NJ 51,740 50,891 23.1%
======================================================================
31 WASHINGTON D.C. 235,654 236,055 23.0%
======================================================================
32 COL. SPRINGS, CO 24,232 24,143 22.9%
======================================================================
33 LOS ANGELES, CA 405,217 408,972 22.8%
======================================================================
34 CHARLOTTE, NC 71,791 71,573 22.8%
======================================================================
35 ALBUQUERQUE, NM 34,602 34,699 22.3%
======================================================================
36 FT WORTH, 71,956 71,487 21.8%
======================================================================
37 FRESNO, CA 36,794 36,040 21.6%
======================================================================
38 TACOMA, WA 24,033 25,346 21.4%
======================================================================
39 NASHVILLE, TN 56,324 57,362 21.3%
======================================================================
40 PORTLAND, OR 92,305 92,369 20.9%
======================================================================
41 CHARLESTON, SC 26,036 26,335 20.8%
======================================================================
42 GREENVILLE, SC 42,885 42,044 20.5%
======================================================================
43 GREENSBORO, NC 60,440 59,485 20.2%
======================================================================
44 OAKLAND, CA 107,181 106,629 20.2%
======================================================================
45 GRAND RAPIDS, MI 50,127 50,088 20.0%
======================================================================
46 SAN ANTONIO, TX 70,086 66,685 19.9%
======================================================================
47 TAMPA-ST. PETE, FL 105,090 108,397 19.7%
======================================================================
48 NEWARK, NJ 100,336 99,973 19.7%
======================================================================
49 BATON ROUGE, LA 26,787 27,968 19.2%
======================================================================
50 OMAHA, NE 32,223 32,474 19.0%
======================================================================
51 LOUISVILLE, KY 45,210 43,876 18.2%
======================================================================
52 MIAMI, FL 119,029 111,197 18.2%
======================================================================
53 MINN.-ST. PAUL, MN 123,350 126,092 18.2%
======================================================================
54 LITTLE ROCK, AR 28,840 29,433 17.8%
======================================================================
55 ANN ARBOR, MI 28,197 26,775 17.6%
======================================================================
56 SEATTLE, WA 119,550 117,392 16.9%
======================================================================
57 SYRACUSE, NY 31,804 34,214 16.7%
======================================================================
58 MOBILE, AL 24,730 25,083 16.6%
======================================================================
59 DENVER, CO 105,155 100,683 16.4%
======================================================================
60 ALLENTOWN, PA 26,839 27,207 16.3%
======================================================================
61 BALTIMORE, MD 107,842 106,020 16.2%
======================================================================
62 BIRMINGHAM, AL 41,923 40,369 16.1%
======================================================================
63 KANSAS CITY, MO 74,981 78,643 15.9%
======================================================================
64 RICHMOND, VA 43,660 45,349 15.6%
======================================================================
65 INDIANAPOLIS, IN 67,797 66,886 15.5%
======================================================================
66 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 54,062 53,813 15.1%
======================================================================
67 TUCSON, AR 31,739 31,708 14.8%
======================================================================
68 SAN JOSE, CA 76,698 75,342 14.2%
======================================================================
69 MEMPHIS, TN 46,792 45,703 14.1%
======================================================================
70 TULSA, OK 41,845 39,921 14.1%
======================================================================
71 BERGEN, NJ 65,223 65,764 14.0%
======================================================================
72 NORFOLK, VA 58,086 59,022 13.6%
======================================================================
73 AKRON, OH 30,167 29,162 13.5%
======================================================================
74 ST LOUIS, MO 108,739 110,110 13.3%
======================================================================
75 PHILADELPHIA, PA 223,122 219,116 13.2%
======================================================================
76 HARRISBURG, PA 28,980 28,980 13.1%
======================================================================
77 MILWAUKEE, WI 66,400 66,490 12.5%
======================================================================
78 WICHITA, KN 24,648 24,592 12.4%
======================================================================
79 NEW YORK, NY 405,453 385,251 12.3%
======================================================================
80 ROCHESTER, NY 45,612 45,364 12.2%
======================================================================
81 COLUMBUS, OH 64,518 67,582 11.3%
======================================================================
82 CLEVELAND, OH 105,124 101,461 11.3%
======================================================================
83 NEW ORLEANS, LA 58,726 58,528 10.8%
======================================================================
84 SCRANTON, PA 29,456 29,169 10.6%
======================================================================
85 SAN FRANCISCO, CA 114,062 110,685 10.2%
======================================================================
86 PITTSBURGH, PA 101,719 101,769 10.0%
======================================================================
87 BOSTON, MA 184,939 185,975 9.5%
======================================================================
88 YOUNGSTOWN, OH 24,901 24,220 9.4%
======================================================================
89 TOLEDO, OH 27,246 26,246 9.4%
======================================================================
90 SPRINGFIELD, MA 26,305 26,036 9.4%
======================================================================
91 DETROIT, MI 181,384 176,929 9.3%
======================================================================
92 ALBANY, NY 39,823 38,649 9.3%
======================================================================
93 CINCINNATI, OH 71,842 69,313 9.0%
======================================================================
94 CHICAGO, IL 350,227 340,795 8.8%
======================================================================
95 SALT LAKE CITY, UT 53,951 54,501 8.6%
======================================================================
96 DAYTON, OH 39,833 38,426 7.6%
======================================================================
97 HONOLULU, HI 35,452 34,907 7.4%
======================================================================
98 PROVIDENCE, RI 49,105 49,653 4.6%
======================================================================
99 NASSAU, NY 118,049 123,041 4.5%
======================================================================
100 BUFFALO, NY 44,191 40,566 0.5%
======================================================================
TOTAL 7,821,196 7,775,257 18.6%
======================================================================
NATIONAL GROWTH 184,368 -45,939
======================================================================
% GROWTH/DECLINE 2.4% -0.6% 3.5%
======================================================================




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or
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