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Starting a Business in South Florida

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Are you thinking about relocating to the Sunshine State and starting a business there? South Florida has plenty to tempt the entrepreneur who’d rather make deals in flip-flops than wear a suit and tie. From the Florida Keys to Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami to the Everglades, this warm and beautiful part of the country has a lot to offer new business owners.

Taxes and Other Practicalities

Florida’s low tax rate makes it attractive to both individuals and to businesses. With relatively low corporate tax rates, there’s a lot of opportunity here, and political leaders in Florida are determined to continue to make the state appealing to entrepreneurs. Miami’s mayor, Francis Suarez, has been encouraging entrepreneurship and tech in particular. There are some places where you can start to feel almost as though there’s an effort to push innovation out; south Florida is not one of those places. There are a number of other advantages in the area as well. There are great global connectivity thanks to not just the usual airports, highways and railways but ports as well. When you are looking for a place to kickstart your business, Florida has one of the largest economies of any state in the nation.

Challenges for Florida Businesses

The weather in the state is both a blessing and a curse, with the most obvious example of the latter being hurricanes. However, there are less visible things to consider as well. Fleet managers with vehicles that remain within the region may not have to worry about the icy roads that their counterparts to the north contend with, but extreme heat can wear on vehicles and equipment. Tires are already a major expense for fleets, and hot weather can make their deterioration more rapid. Hot weather can also lead to the expansion of the air in tires and overinflation. A tire pressure monitoring system can help keep drivers safer. There are TPM sensors that alert drivers in some way, such as via a light or another type of display, when air pressure is at a dangerous level. Keeping an eye on air pressure also helps improve fuel economy.

Another issue you may face, depending on what your business is, is the seasonal nature of the economy. You may need to prepare for periods that are very slow if your business is dependent on tourism or on people who spend the winter months in the state and go north in the summer. With that said, it’s also worth noting that restaurants continue to be both the largest and the fastest-growing sector in the region. If you’re hoping to open a restaurant, you may have to contend with the seasonal element, but you’ll also be part of a burgeoning local industry.

Talent

An educated workforce can provide a huge amount of talent to a business, and the largest cluster of institutions for higher education in the state stretches along the east coast from West Palm Beach to Miami. Savvy entrepreneurs and employers will look to these institutions first to provide some of the talent that they can in turn nurture. Talent means innovation, and innovation is a key to success.

Just because all of this talent is local doesn’t mean you can take it for granted. Unemployment in the state is low, and you’ll need to offer an enticing package to attract the best workers to your company. Keep in mind as well that thanks to the rise of remote work, depending on the nature of your business, you may be competing for top employees not just with other companies in the area but with enterprises throughout the world.

Creating a Business Plan

No matter where you are located or what type of business you’re starting, you need to create a business plan. This is necessary for loans or investors, but it’s also an important document for you, and that’s why you need to write it even if you aren’t planning on getting outside funding. In that situation, think of it as having a conversation with yourself in a way. You’re explicitly setting down, perhaps for the first time, the basics of your idea and why you think what you have to offer is better than the competition.

You’ll also discover things you hadn’t considered; perhaps up to this point, you haven’t thought about the competition. Focus as well on the region and what advantages and challenges it presents. Large areas of south Florida are protected area or used for agriculture; this keeps development largely only around Miami and a few other urban hubs. What effect might this have on where you plan to open your business? You should also examine who your customers will be and what kind of marketing is most likely to reach them.

 

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