We're No. 1

Texas takes top spot in new study of best states for female entrepreneurs

Texas jumped from No. 8 to No. 1 in this nationwide study.

Photo courtesy of Pexels

Texas is known for being a land of opportunity, and a recent study evaluated how those business opportunities translate to benefitting female entrepreneurs. Turns out, starting a business as a woman in the Lone Star State is a pretty good idea.

Fit Small Business ranked all 50 states based on the business opportunities for women. In the January 8 report, Texas came in No. 1 — up from the No. 8 spot last year. Ohio, Minnesota, Washington, and Alabama rounded out the top five, respectively.

Each state was evaluated by four equally weighted factors: general business climate and opportunity, the number of female-owned businesses, economic and financial health, and safety and well-being for women.

Texas ranked strongest in economic and financial health, for which it ranked No. 3 overall, followed by the number of female-owned businesses, for which it ranked No. 5. Texas' general business climate was ranked No. 8 in the study. Where the state stands to improve is in its safety and well-being for women. Texas ranked No. 41 in this category, which factored in cost of living, social support for women, and whether or not the state had a positive environment for women.

"Texas is hands-down one of the nation's top states due to its business-friendly legal and economic climate," the report says. "Put aside having no corporate or income taxes and a high rate of startup growth; startups are flocking to [the state's] high startup success rate."

American Express' 2018 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report found that women-owned businesses are growing at an impressive rate. The study found that over the past 11 years, the amount of women-owned businesses grew 58 percent — compared to the 12 percent that all businesses reportedly increased.

In this study, Texas tied with Utah for second place among the states "where women-owned businesses most increased their economic clout between 2007 and 2018." When the data was broken down into metropolitan areas, Texas had three cities in the top 10: San Antonio at No. 2, Austin at No. 3, and Dallas No. 9.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.com.

bests reports texas

Reduce, Reuse, Relisten

McKinney record store joins creative effort to give old vinyl a new life

Photo by Eric Krull on Unsplash

A new program is trying to keep old vinyl out of landfills.

North Texas vinyl collectors going through the disappointment of discovering a damaged record in their collection can at least avoid sending it to the landfill. A new initiative is turning 11 independent record stores across the United States, including Red Zeppelin Records in McKinney, into vinyl take-back points for potential recycling.

The pilot is a collaboration among the record stores, Warner Music Group (WMG), and Virterras Materials, a recycling technology business that specializes in "challenging" materials like plastics and rubber. It will run from "the end of June through September," a press release says.

All customers have to do is drop off damaged records — any kind or condition is accepted.

The program is still in an exploratory phase; the partners don't know the best way to organize the collection yet, and they are vague about what the records might become. The release says the goal is "to better understand how damaged or unwanted records can be collected, consolidated, and directed toward potential material recovery pathways."

Funding comes from a grant from the Vinyl Institute.

The partners will gather information about participation rates, material quality, the work it takes to move and process the records, and the different possible outputs after recycling. The release notes that vinyl records have become more popular over the past decade, but that industry-wide information about disposal is lagging.

This May, WMG, GZ Media, and Abbey Road Studios completed a manufacturing study that confirmed that it is possible to turn unsold and obsolete records into new pressings with audio quality that is high enough for commercial sale. The take-back pilot continues pulling that thread.

Launching the pilot at different stores around the U.S. — those in "major music markets," the release says — serves to diversify the communities getting involved, whether it's locals with specific preferences or fans of different kinds of music.

Two other stores in Texas are participating: County Line Records in Keller and Antone's Record Shop in Austin.

Red Zeppelin Records is a locally owned record store located at 206 E. Louisiana St. in McKinney. It's open 11 am-6 pm Monday-Thursday, 10 am-8 pm Friday-Saturday, and 12-5 pm Sunday.

"Independent record stores have long served as gathering places for music fans and stewards of music culture," said Warner Music Group senior director of ESG Madeleine Smith in the release. "The pilot brings together retailers, recovery partners, and music fans to explore an important question: what would it take to create practical pathways for recovering unplayable or damaged vinyl records? It’s a vital first step in understanding what’s possible."

Participating stores include:

County Line Records (Keller, TX)
Red Zeppelin Records (McKinney, TX)
Antone’s Record Shop (Austin, TX)
Amoeba Hollywood (Los Angeles, CA)
Criminal Records (Atlanta, GA)
Easy Street Records (Seattle, WA)
Home Rule Records (Washington D.C.)
Rough Trade NYC (New York City, NY)
Spin Me Round (Easton, PA)
Reckless Records (Chicago, IL)
Sweat Records (Miami, FL)

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