Wed. Wake-up - Week of August 19, 2008

Don't be afraid to relocate.

Whether you are within New York or outside coming in, finding a business friendly atmosphere is an essential ingredient for any small business. We've all heard about location, location, location right? Well that slogan applies to more than finding a local customer base, it also applies to the amount of assistance a local government body can provide to your small business. As highlighted by our Tools for Tuesday column, which cited one of the Town of Union's programs, there are many localities which are willing to go that extra mile (other than just state programs). Finding one of these environments, can be just the sort of catalyst small businesses can use to accelerate their growth.

Now you may be asking yourself, how does that first sentence fit in with all this. Well, in several ways. First, no locality wants to see an established business leave town, so if there are no official programs available, your local politicians may be willing to create one for you (God love the politicians) if it means losing more jobs if they don't. Secondly, moving your business to a "friendly" New York environment, such as in Broome or Madison County, may provide you with enough financial incentive to pay for your business movement in relatively short amount of time. By no means do I think businesses should rotate on a monthly basis to new localities, but as a business owner you should not rule out the possibility of moving to a new environment, which appreciates your hard work and dedication. Leverage is a powerful tool, in helping convince local governments to do the right thing by their local business community.

So keep your mind open, do a little asking around, and see if there is something which, either in your locality or another, can help you to grow your business, Remember, that it is your tax dollars they are spending, it may as well go to help you.