Oklahoma City may not be the very first place you think of when it comes to great entrepreneurship tours, but it really should be.
The capital of the state of Oklahoma, this highly popular city is known for its dazzling downtown scene, popular capitol complex, memorials dedicated to the tragic OKC bombing, and of course, the NBA knockout team the Thunder. Surrounded by working oil wells and highly regarded universities, this city is an economic playground, a great city for school, business, and play!
OKC Business Facts:
- There are 10.3 businesses per 100 residents
- The average income is $51,635
- Forbes ranks OKC as #29 Best Places for Business and Careers, #23 in Cost of Doing Business, and #48 in Job Growth
- Oklahoma City holds one of the top livestock markets in the world. ( oil, natural gas, and petroleum resources are also major components of the economy)
- BancFirst, Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy, Loves, OGE Energy and many other successful businesses have started and thrived in OKC.
Here are the 4 main reasons Oklahoma City is great for entrepreneurs:
Low Cost of Living -
OKC’s cost of living is considerably lower than many other booming-business towns, ranking at 90.5 on the Forbes Cost of Living Index. The COL average within the city is typically 0.5% lower than the national average, allowing more quick growth opportunity ventures as well as a city-wide spot on Apartment Guide ‘10 Affordable Cities Where Luxury Apartments are Within Your Reach’. Lower cost of living = lower operating costs.
Lending Environment -
Another really great thing about Oklahoma City when it comes to entrepreneurship is that it holds a really strong ‘small-business-lending environment’. This means that more small businesses have loans available to them here, ensuring startup success.
Education/Talent -
Over 27.9% of the population here within OKC hold at least a bachelor's degree, a higher percentage than many cities. This means that there is a higher wealth of knowledge here, allowing more room for economic growth. The city holds several different noteworthy schools and universities, many of which offer a killer business program and daily tours to explain more! Here are just a few great ones:
- Oklahoma City University
- Meinders School of Business
- Francis Tuttle
- Metro Tech
Paperwork -
Paperwork is certainly never your top reason to choose a city to be an entrepreneur, but with OKC it may end up being just this reason, the startup paperwork for any new/small business taking less than one day! This is a huge improvement from more common city startup practices, making this another no-brainer reason to head to OKC!
While there aren’t very many notable business tours within the city, you may call ahead and try to tour any particular business you are interested in, such as Love’s or Chesapeake Energy, or choose to take a campus tour of a popular local university such as Meinders. Other popular city tours include:
- Foodie Foot Tour
- Oklahoma River Cruises
- Village Tours
- Bricktown Bike Bar Tours