Montana ranks as a top state for starting a new business | Billings News

BILLINGS, MONT. – Montana has been recognized as one of the top states in the U.S. for starting a business, according to reports shared by Entrepreneur Media. The state has achieved one of the highest scores for the total number of new businesses.

Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen noted that there was a record number of new businesses registered as of April.

Keith Hart, Director of Entrepreneurship at Big Sky Economic Development in Billings, shared insights on the growth. “So we’re roughly 22% of all of the business is starting in Montana, which I thought, a really interesting number. It’s about one per 48 people in Yellowstone County. And it just kind of shows that there’s just a higher, higher entrepreneurial activity here clustered around the major economic center that we are for the state,” he said.

Hart explained that the types of businesses starting in Montana are contributing to the state’s economic growth and success. He highlighted the advantage of launching a business in a smaller community, where competition is less intense.

“We have a ton of small mom and pop retail shops, and we have a ton of contractors and people in the ag industry and things like that, where they’re not necessarily a high-growth business. You know, we don’t have 50 people trying to launch a tech startup in Billings every year. And, you know, two of those end up being successful. We have 50 people who want to be, you know, plumbers, electricians, retail, restaurants, those types of things. And those tend to just have a little bit lower failure rate. So, I think it speaks a little bit to the types of businesses,” Hart stated.

Hart also mentioned the resources available in Yellowstone County for aspiring business owners, including assistance with financial projection, business planning, loans, and access to Rock31—a business incubator and co-working space for entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur Media reports that Montana holds an opportunity score of 9.55, the highest in the list. Nationally, there have been more than 21 million new business applications filed in the past four years, with Montana ranking number one, followed by Oregon, Nevada, and Utah.