Editorial: Florida's business climate good, but challenges exist

OUR POSITION: There are strong signs that Florida is near the top of the list when it comes to new businesses locating here, but we have some hurdles to clear.

Florida fares well in two recent rankings for the best places in the U.S. to start a new business.

Nine Florida cities — including Sarasota, Bradenton — make the list of top small cities and towns to start a small business, according to Site Selection Magazine.

The publication is much-watched by economic developers, industry and corporate site selectors, developers as well as commercial real estate investors and brokers.

Sarasota ranks 38th and Bradenton 47th on the list which ranks the top U.S. localities with populations of less than 75,000 people on tax climates, labor pools, population growth, broadband infrastructure, commute times for workers and access to capital.

Cheyenne, Wyoming, ranks first on the list followed by Missoula, Montana, and Ames, Iowa — all big college towns.

But Florida has the most of any state. Tamarac ranks 7th, Daytona Beach 11th, Weston 16th, Jupiter 31st, Lauderhill 36th and Margate 41st.

Up the road, Pinellas Park (in Pinellas County) ranks 37th.

The state's tax structures combined with population growth and large labor pools help propel Florida's economic development efforts.

In another new ranking, the Sunshine State comes in second (behind only Wyoming) for the best state to establish an LLC (a limited liability corporation). LLCs are established across the market economy for real estate entities, small businesses and larger conglomerates capitalist ventures.

Small business advisory firm Venture Smarter ranked states based on how much it costs to create an LLC — including filing fees and public notice costs — as well as tax and business operating climates.

Florida is in the company of South Dakota, Montana and Alaska while California, New York and Delaware are at the bottom of the rankings.

It costs more than $1,900 to create a new business LLC in California and New York compared to $264 in Florida. First-year filing costs are even cheaper in some other states such as Colorado ($60) or Michigan ($75), according to the study released July 26.

Florida has some built-in economic advantages including population growth and generally pro-business and pro-tourism mindsets. The state's growth and tourism benefits have given us tax base advantages over some states and regions.

Florida increasingly compares favorably to California — which also enjoys warm weather and plenty of growth but has chosen more regulatory, bureaucratic and higher-cost paths that can be adverse to small businesses and everyday working folks,

Beyond permeating partisan (and presidential) politics, these rankings are good for economic development, job creation and small business growth statewide and in our southwestern Florida communities.

But, we are not without challenges.

Florida, like many other states, faces a housing problem with many workers and seniors struggling to find and afford places to live.

That's a long-term challenge requiring long-term community and statewide commitments and finding a way to get residential real estate developers, builders and landlords interested in more affordable housing options — rather than luxury prices and hefty rent increases.

The homeowners insurance situation is not improving and many everyday Floridians distrust their insurers and feel efforts in Tallahassee have been too focused on helping the industry.

The insurance situation and many Floridians (especially seniors) concerns about consumer protections and being scammed feeds into our increasingly vociferous and not always healthy appetites for lawsuits and litigation.

Florida's divisive political fights can also have economic blowbacks (on both sides of the partisan wars).

Those blowbacks — whether conservative or progressive, "woke" or MAGA — can potentially adversely impact the state's economy, tourism and jobs — jobs held by our friends, family and neighbors.