Let's Do Business

The best place in Texas to start a business is right here

Addison TreeHouse helps foster entrepreneurism.

It’s good to be an entrepreneur in Texas. But which cities are best to start a business? NerdWallet did a study to find out and discovered that the Dallas area boasts two in the top 10: Addison (No. 1) and Farmers Branch (No. 5).

To determine the rankings, researchers analyzed 200 places with populations of at least 10,000 to determine their business climates and economic health. Criteria included average revenue of businesses, percentage of businesses with paid employees, median annual income and housing costs and unemployment rate, among others.

Addison is praised for having the second-highest median annual income in the top 10 ($50,280), the second-highest number of businesses per 100 people (more than 26) and a low unemployment rate (3.9 percent). Even though the town is fairly small, it has lots of hotels and restaurants, and it’s also home to co-working space Addison TreeHouse (co-founded by the Town of Addison and the Dallas Entrepreneur Center) and companies like Mary Kay and Bottle Rocket.

Farmers Branch has the second-highest number of businesses in the top 10 (4,158) and comes in second for the largest number of businesses with paid employees (more than 1,700). Taco Bueno and Ironclad have corporate headquarters there.

The greater Houston area boasts five of the top 10 cities on the list: Webster, Stafford, Katy, Deer Park and Texas City. The Austin area didn’t show up in the top 10 at all, possibly due to the rising cost of living or the fact that the energy industry lacks a strong presence when compared to Houston and Dallas, according to NerdWallet.

Dallas proper ranks No. 115, Houston proper came in at No. 82 and Austin falls at No. 96. See the complete list on NerdWallet.

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Workplace accolades

6 Dallas retailers and restaurants make Time's best private companies list

Half Price Books presents Dallas Antiquarian Book Fair

Photo courtesy of Half Price Books

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Six Dallas-area brands in the retail, restaurant and hotel industries appear in Time magazine’s first-ever ranking of the best privately owned companies in the U.S.

At No. 69, the highest-ranked DFW-based brand among retail, restaurant and hotel companies on the list is Farmers Branch-based eyewear retailer Eyemart Express, which operates more than 270 stores nationwide. VSP Vision acquired Eyemart Express last year. Optometrist Dr. Doug Barnes founded Eyemart Express in 1990.

“Like VSP, Eyemart Express is a doctor-founded organization with similar values and a shared commitment to expanding access to affordable, high-quality eye care and eyewear to as many people as possible,” Michael Guyette, president and CEO of VP Vision, said last year.

Guyette is an alumnus of the University of North Texas in Denton.

Time teamed up with data provider Statista to launch the inaugural ranking of the country’s 500 best private companies. Rankings are based on employee satisfaction surveys along with a company’s impact on society, knowledge, health, and the environment.

Other DFW companies on the list are:

No. 127 Half Price Books, the Dallas-based bookstore chain.
No. 160 The Container Store, based in Coppell. Bed Bath & Beyond recently acquired The Container Store, which sells home organization products, for about $150 million.
No. 162 Uncle Julio’s, the Irving-based Mexican restaurant chain.
No. 377 Mary Kay, an Addison-based seller of cosmetics, skin care products, and body care products.
No. 439 TRT Holdings, the Dallas-based owner of the Omni Hotels & Resorts chain.

While not based in DFW, these businesses on the list should be familiar to Texans:

No. 75 H-E-B, the San Antonio-based grocery chain.
No. 141 Visionworks, the San Antonio-based chain of eyewear stores.
No. 165 Taco Cabana, the San Antonio-based Tex-Mex restaurant chain.
No. 198 Buc-ee’s, the Lake Jackson-based operator of mega-convenience stores.
No. 285 Blue Bell Creameries, the Brenham-based ice cream company.
No. 418 Whataburger, the San Antonio-based fast-food restaurant chain.
No. 447 Joe’s Crab Shack, the Houston-based seafood restaurant chain.
No. 491 Tailored Brands, the Houston-based owner of the Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank and K&G Fashion Superstore menswear chains.

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