According to SBE Council President & CEO, Karen Kerrigan, "Few understand the costs of health care better than small business owners. In the face of significant costs, they struggle to remain competitive, provide health care coverage for themselves, their own families, employees and the families of workers. Unfortunately, many policies that have been put into effect have only increased health insurance costs. That is the case not just with federal policies, but state initiatives as well." The Index is a means of highlighting trouble spots as well as places where things are working and costs to business are low. The ranking of the states in the Healthcare Policy Cost Index is accomplished by measuring five policy items that impact the cost of healthcare. By doing this, the Index is able to show which states have a good climate for healthcare costs and which do not. These measures inc... [Read Full Article]

Sometimes the key to business success is location. That, of course, is not to say that other factors do not play a roll, but doing business in a place that supports and encourages business through incentives, tax policy and the like always conveys an advantage over those who have to do business in places that don’t offer such support. In a recent article, US News and World Report put together a list of the seven best states to start a business. US News Seven Best Places to Open a Business Taking data from the New State Economy Index by the Kauffman Foundation and combining it with the 2008 Small Business Survival Index of the Small Business and Entrepreneurs Council and combining that data, here is what they came up with: Florida. A good tax climate with low corporate and unemployment taxes and no individual income taxes attracts business even though the state was hard hit by th... [Read Full Article]