Nov 09
16
Why Detroit?
The bloggers at the Time House in Detroit asked five of the biggest advertising agencies in Detroit this Question. “If I’m young, talented and creative, and open to all kinds of opportunities, why Detroit?” These agencies produced an ad to answer this question. See their work at http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2009/11/15/why-detroit/#ixzz0X1zd4VRk.
This question can also be rephrased, why would an entrepreneur look at Detroit? Detroit and Michigan have major advantages over other parts of the country. With a combination of low barrier to entry, great college network, and a strong history of creativity and success.
First this area, offers a great advantage of a low barrier to entry. The cost of living is low, which gives the entrepreneur, more money of focus on the business. Unfortunately there is a huge surplus of both residential and commercial real estate. This means office space cheaper and housing is gong to be cheaper. It is well known that Michigan has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, this allows for a more affordable workforce. Other big city’s may be a cooler zip code to have, but they also come with much higher overhead and much more competition. Besides a lower cost of doing business, these cities also do not have the strong network of universities and colleges that Michigan can offer.
In my opinion Michigan has one the largest number of colleges and universities then any other state in country except for the Massachusetts. A company in Michigan has the ability to recruit students from 7 division one schools, many technical schools, along with many community colleges. What a entrepreneur can gain from this large network of universities? Firt is the large about of talent that can be kept in the state. The second advantage that they will gain is the use of the resources from the schools. Most of these schools have programs that will help to further their business whether it is interships, or programs they can participate in to push their products or services. Besides the strong opportunity of the cost and the talent network, there is also a strong history of sucess in Michigan.
I am a huge beleiver that history can tell you a lot about a place. Michigan has a very strong history of sucessful businesses. Some of the best compainies in the history of the country have started in Michigan. General Motors, Ford, Dow Chemical, Lazy Boy, and many many more. The area maybe down, but we are not talking about starting from a new, their is a history of sucess, and Michigan already has the infrustructure to support large businesses.
As a small business owner myself, I truely believe that Michigan is a place to grow, it has all the resources that I need. The path out of these economic times is on the backs of the entraprenuers of Michigan.
