Hometown Glory

Dallas ranks among best cities in America to start a small business

If you've been kicking around the idea of starting your own indie coffee shop, restaurant or boutique, there's no time like the present. You know why? Because Dallas is one of the best cities in the nation for businesses. Even Forbes says so.

Based on data from the U.S. Small Business Friendliness Survey conducted by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Dallas was graded an A in business-starting terms.

The survey applauded Dallas as "an excellent place to start a business," while noting that quality training and networking could be improved. Dallas earned an A+ in "ease of starting a business" and "employment, labor and hiring." In fact, Dallas earned at least an A in 9 out of 11 categories ranging from overall friendliness to zoning issues.

Austin, Houston and San Antonio all earned an A+ rating, but we're just not that nerdy in Big D. Nevertheless, we're proud that the Lone Star State scored four of the top 10 spots in the ranking.

California landed on other end of things, with Sacramento and San Diego each earning an F. "The state’s famously micro-managing regulatory approach didn’t win it fans among the entrepreneurs," Forbes noted.

North Carolina was named the most improved state in the survey, rising from a C+ to a B+.

unspecified

Coworking News

New coworking space to open in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood

Office Evolution

A coworking space is opening in Dallas in a central location: Office Evolution, a Louisville-based coworking chain, will open what a release says is a "state-of-the-art coworking space" at 3500 Oak Lawn Ave. #360 in Dallas at the southeast corner of Lemmon Avenue.

No details on what makes it state-of-the-art, but construction is ongoing and an opening is anticipated in mid-October.

Office Evolution was founded in 2003 as a shared workspace-coworking environment, cultivated on the principles of "Ohana," the Hawaiian tradition that references family working toward a common goal. (The founder was from Hawaii.)

The company started out in Boulder, Colorado, then relocated its headquarters to Louisville. It's an affiliated brand of United Franchise Group, and is part of The Vast Coworking Group, which specializes in franchising within the coworking industry. All of their locations are franchised.

The Dallas location is owned by franchisee Michael Pickering, a Dallas native who runs a family-owned indoor soccer facility in Dallas. (There are two other Office Evolution locations in the DFW area in McKinney and Southlake, owned by different franchisees.)

They're describing the Dallas location at 3500 Oak Lawn Ave. as "Turtle Creek," although its location at Oak Lawn and Lemmon really puts it at the epicenter of Oak Lawn. (To further complicate matters, the building previously and incorrectly described its address as "Uptown.")

It's a seven-story building in which the majority of tenants are doctor and medical offices.

Office Evolution rates include a coworking day pass for $25, plus "flex" office options starting at $200 a month for 20 hours, up to $550 a month for 80 hours.

Amenities of the building that are also accessible to Office Evolution customers include a front desk; a 1,000-square-foot fitness center; covered parking; and on-site security six days a week.

According to a spokesperson, Pickering and his team put $1.2 million into the renovation to transform the space, which occupies most of the fourth floor where it will span 9,240 square feet of space with 41 total offices — one of which is earmarked as an "on-demand office" for the professional on the go.

trends oak lawn openings