Is Everything Really Bigger in Texas? Austin's Small Business Scene Is a Jewel In The Land of Big
Everything's bigger in Texas, right? That cliché is probably nearly as old as the gargantuan southern state itself, and while it does often seem to hold true, Austin, Texas' capitol city, has always been a city that blazes its own path. "Keep Austin weird" is the city's slogan, and while that phrase is a nod to the awe-inspiring uniqueness of Austin, it is also an allusion to the burgeoning small business scene which finds a fond home in the heart of Austinian.
According CNBC, Austin is the number one city in the country to start a business, it is also considered to be the top city in the country for small business vitality by American City Business Journals, and even the most promising place to launch a technology start up by Sunguard Availability Services. So, what is it about Austin that has allowed small businesses to make such a big splash?
Austinian
"Keep Austin weird" is more than just a slogan for Texas' capital city; it is almost an obsession. This obsession has helped Austin to forge its own path much in the way that mega cities Dallas and Houston have. The capital city has long been the home of a vibrant music scene that plays to the over 40,000 college students at Austin's world renowned University of Texas, as well as the community at large.
It is, perhaps, this marriage between the college and the community that makes Austin such a small business friendly place. There aren't many things that bring people together the way good music, good food, and collegiate athletics do, and Texas' weird city has every part of that trifecta. As a result, the same passion with which the college students and locals root for the Texas Longhorns, they tend to root for and support their unique small businesses.
Friendly Competition
In the previous section, it is mentioned that Austin has, for quite some time, had a thriving local music scene, but one of the most amazing things about that music scene is the way that the musicians cooperated with each other rather than simply competing. It is this same sense of camaraderie that has been such a catalyst in the growth of the small business culture of Austin. “Most people in the Austin business community will make time to help fellow entrepreneurs, even when there’s no apparent or immediate benefit for themselves,” says Allen Stone, co-founder of PetCru, an in-home pet services business that has been operating in Austin for two years now. When those who are supposed to be, your competitors lend themselves and their knowledge to you, it undoubtedly greatly increases your chances for success.
Southern Hospitality Austin Style
The south has been long known and praised for the hospitality with which it treats newcomers and natives alike, and Austin, like a true city on the move, extends this hospitality to business. Texas is a very business friendly place with a corporate tax rate of only 1% for most business, and even a 0.5% tax rate for many wholesalers and retailers. Those are the kind of numbers that small business owners feel welcome.
On top of that, Austin has recognized the vitality of its small business community and they have extended their hand to the community in many ways. The Austin Small Business Program, for example, claims as part their mission statement that their goal is to "...foster job creation and support the growth of new and existing businesses by providing capacity building tools, research, and resources." It would be all too easy to just dismiss that statement as a carefully crafted sales pitch, but when entrepreneurs see these words in action, they realize that they have a business partner in the city of Austin, itself. Austin even has a Facebook page dedicated to the growth of its small businesses.
The Seismic Economic Shift
One factor in creating the small business market of today is one that has affected the global economy, and that is the World Wide Web. The internet has place in the hands of anyone with enough passion and gumption the ability to become an entrepreneur. When the landscape in business changes, it is usually the risk takers and shoot from the hip kind of wiley business people who benefit, and as a liberal city with a large collegiate population, Austin has proven that it is willing to go where many southern cities, including its own Texas cohorts, are not. To boot, Austin even has a website, www.builtinaustin.com, which is like a social media page for those in the world of tech and start-up business in Austin.
Austin is also home to some of the coolest business like the Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery which is owned by its 3000 "member owners" who receive exclusive perks, and operated and self-managed by its employees. There's Four Elements Yoga where they make yoga easier by performing it in hammocks suspended from the ceiling; it is the first yoga studio of its kind in the United States. Then there's Guac N Role where owners Benjamin and Ashley Miller serve veggie Mexican food from a mail truck that's been converted to a lime green food truck that wears a mohawk, yes, the truck has a mohawk. Austin's business is just as weird and lovable as the city itself.
Small Is Big
Austin's open arms policy towards start-up businesses recalls a line from the theme song of the old sitcom, "Cheers", where the singer belts out the famous lines "Where everybody knows your name/ And they're always glad you came". Small businesses have found a home, and even their own culture within the friendly confines of the city that thrives off its reputation as being weird. Small business is a big deal in the city that flaunts its weirdness. "Keep Austin weird, and keep, small business big", okay, it may not be the official slogan of Austin, but that doesn't mean it doesn't fit.
