The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council ranked Mississippi seventh on its annual Small Business Survival Index, experts say.
The ranking could improve the opportunities for business students at MSU and reassure the state’s economic future.
The SBEC is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that has more than 70,000 members and works to improve policies that affect entrepreneurs on a national and a state level.
Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for the SBEC, said that the organization wants to inform policymakers about the importance of small business to the economy, and how it encourages economic growth.
Keating said that the index is based on each state’s governmental policy treatment of small business and entrepreneurs. He said that Mississippi had fairly low property taxes and a low gas tax.
Sara Freedman, dean of the College of Business and Industry, said the ranking represents the growth and economic development of Mississippi. Good things happen when a state is viewed as being supportive of small business, she said.
She also said that small businesses employ many people, and the Index ranking will help to provide more opportunities for MSU students.
The Mississippi Economic Council is organizing Blueprint Mississippi. The plan, which was laid out by business leaders, is a strategy for economic development in the state.
Freedman said that the state’s ranking fits well with this and other state plans that are in motion.
“The high ranking of Mississippi on this index is an indication of this state’s commitment to economic development. Those of us in the college and university are available to assist business start-ups and existing small businesses,” Freedman said.
Sonny Fisher is the director of the Small Business Development Center, which is a service arm of the College of Business and Industry. The center offers advice, information and counseling to small businesses and potential small business owners.
Fisher said that the state’s ranking is a favorable sign for entrepreneurs, and that this ranking will help draw more small business to the state in the future.
He said that we should be proud of this compared to the state’s low rankings in other areas, such as education and income.
“We have a good climate for businesses,” Fisher added.
Keating said that Mississippi does have some negative qualities, including the state’s high liability costs and consumption taxes. However, he said there are possibilities for improvement.
“Hopefully, the state stays on the right track and continues to improve in a variety of areas that will make the state friendly to small business,” Keating said.