In recent years, Denver, Colorado, has been on the radar of businesses across the United States. With favorable business policies and a growing educated workforce, the mile-high city is becoming one of the hottest business destinations in the country.
Taylor Made Solutions presents some key factors about why Denver is the best city to start or relocate your business.
Affordability:
According to a report by U.S. News & World Report, Denver is ranked the second best city to live in in the United States. The city has around 300,000 housing units, with average rent for a house coming in at between $1,400-$2,000. The market for apartments is also hot, with more than 5,000 Denver apartments currently available for rent. Rents average $1,877 for a one-bedroom apartment, while a two-bedroom unit averages $2,531.
What’s more? Denver boasts of amazing connectivity through its affordable light rail and bus services, costing just $114 per month. These benefits directly translate into businesses having more resources to dedicate towards buying inventory, paying vendors, or marketing.
Talent:
Denver’s educated workforce consists of 40% of adults holding a Bachelor’s Degree in the fields of Science, Technology, and Engineering. Additionally, the majority of the city’s population is over the age of 21, creating a wide pool of talent to choose from.
The abundance of reputed colleges in and around the city are the key factors for this demographic, some of these include:
- University of Denver
- University of Colorado Denver
- Regis University
- Colorado Christian University
Community:
According to Crunch Base, Denver start-ups received $931 million in venture capitalist funding in 2019. In addition, the city’s Office of Economic Development provides resources for securing funding and assistance for relocation costs.
Around 97% of businesses in the state of Colorado are small businesses, the majority of which reside in Denver. Every March, the city celebrates the Colorado Small Business Development Center (SBDC) day, encouraging citizens to support small businesses.
Handling a business is tough, however, the support of the community provides confidence to entrepreneurs to take risks and help grow their business. This ultimately benefits the community with increased job opportunities and an improved economy.
In addition, there are various organizations catered towards supporting small businesses:
- Rockies Venture Club
- The Denver Metro Small Business Development Center
- Small Business Navigator
- The Founders Institute
Quality of Life:
The city provides a unique balance between urban amenities and natural beauty. Just beyond the city limits are scenic mountain trails, trekking points, mountain climbing spots, and amphitheaters. Internally, the city has close to 20,000 acres of parks and recreation spaces which include retail districts, the 60,000 square feet Denver Skatepark and numerous eateries and pubs.
Having access to these amenities provides plenty of options to spend quality family time, relax and feel rejuvenated to tackle future challenges. The same can be said for your employees, who feel happier leading to increased productivity and work satisfaction.
Some must-see attractions include:
- Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater
- Annual American Indian Festival
- Annual Rocky Mountain Literary Festival
In recent years, Denver has consistently served as a place with educated talent and supportive start-up policies, leading to a thriving community of businesses. As an entrepreneur, starting your business in Denver will provide you numerous business opportunities and an environment to succeed.
If you are inspired to start your business in Denver here are requirements to keep in mind:
- Business Registration: Choose the appropriate business entity such as a limited liability company. An LLC can help you take complete advantage of Colorado’s low business taxes and have greater flexibility in management. As Colorado has specific rules for registering an LLC, hire a formation service to handle the legal processes and keep the cost low.
- Licenses: To operate your business in Denver you will need to obtain the needed licenses from the Department of Licenses and Excise.
- Office Space: Commercial office spaces are increasing by the day in the city. These include rentals and co-working spaces. However, with the city having fiber-optic internet service, you can run your business from the vicinity of your home. Research the providers who cater to your area and select the one providing the best speed and plans.
With its business-friendly policies and growing economy, Denver is the perfect location to start your business.
Taylor Made Solutions is a global executive consulting firm built on leveraging technology to solve the challenges of attracting opportunities to the leadership team for a non-sales approach to building business relationships. Connect with to find out more by calling 303-216-0472!