Want To Start Up A Business? Manhattan Beach Is Probably Not A Good Place: Study

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA -- Small towns can be a great place to start a business because of its low overhead cost, more personal connection with customers and a chance to become a big fish in a little pond. That's not necessarily true in Manhattan Beach, however. The city is ranked as one of the worst places to start up a business, according to a study.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, ranked Manhattan Beach 952nd out 1,261 small-sized cities in its 2017’s Best & Worst Small Cities to Start a Business study. The reason could be that there is a limited resources pool, especially when there are competitions from major companies in nearby Los Angeles. But Manhattan Beach might have something that its bigger counterpart does not.

"One of the big advantages of a small town, at least as viewed by many, would be the quality of life," said Madison Pedigo, the director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Texas, Dallas. "This might include fresh air, easy access to fresh produce, less traffic, a limited commute, friendlier people, and a slower pace."

To determine whether a small city is a good place to start a business, WalletHub’s analysts compared the small towns with a population of between 25,000 and 100,000 residents across three key dimensions: business environment, access to resources and business costs. The analysis does not include the surrounding metro areas.

Manhattan Beach was ranked 190th for business environment, 63rd for access to resources and 1241st for business costs.

Some of the metrics used for the analysis include the average length of a work week, growth of small businesses in the city, working-age population and corporate taxes.

Experts say there are things that smaller cities can do to attract more businesses, such as giving entrepreneurs incentives to set up their companies there, said Gregory L. Stoller, a senior lecturer from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.

"These might include tax breaks, free (or reduced price) office space, local funding through grants or governmental support through introductions," he said. "A government-sponsored forum in which others can build upon like capabilities is always helpful, too."

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