If you read my editorial one year ago, you might remember that my daughter, Carina, had begun her search for a college. Well, she's been accepted to Boston University (with a healthy scholarship, I might add), and as of this writing, is getting ready to move out there.

Carina ended up being able to choose among some top schools that wanted her, but she also was able to weigh their offers in terms of scholarships, programs and costs. This process is not unlike what you, as a converter, must do to decide where to relocate your business.

For example, what are the benefits and drawbacks of moving your operation (or establishing a new one) in one state versus another?

Fortunately, the Small Business Survival Committee, a Washington, DC-based group, provided just that kind of information last month in its sixth annual report, "The Small Business Survival Index 2001." According to chief economist Raymond J. Keating, the study lets companies measure and compare how government in the states treats small businesses and entrepreneurs. The index lets citizens and lawmakers know how they stack up with the rest of the country in terms of being friendly to economic growth.

"In an increasingly mobile and competitive national economy, differences in government-imposed costs of doing business can make a huge difference between whether a state grows economically or falls behind," Keating says.

The SBSC's Index links 17 major government-imposed or government-related costs that impact small businesses and entrepreneurs across a broad spectrum of industries and types of businesses. These include a spectrum of taxes, including personal, capital gains, corporate, property, sales, unemployment, health insurance, gas and death taxes; electricity and worker's comp costs; crime rates; number of bureaucrats; and state minimum wages, among others. The measures are combined into one final index number.

"The index manages to capture much of the government burdens impacting critical economic decisions," Keating says, "particularly affecting investment, state by state."

Okay, so how did they rank? The top five most "biz-friendly" states are 1) Nevada, 2) South Dakota, 3) Washington, 4) Wyoming and 5) Florida. In contrast, the most "anti-entrepreneur" policy states are 46) Minnesota, 47) Kansas, 48) Maine, 49) Hawaii and 50) Rhode Island. The District of Columbia actually came in dead last at No. 51.

Keating sums up: "The best policy environment for entrepreneurship consists of low taxes, limited government, restrained regulation and government protecting life, limb and property."

Whether or not you're planning to relocate, it's important to know how "biz-friendly" your state's governing philosophy is. States that follow such policies are bound to reap the rewards of faster economic growth and increased job creation—just what we need right about now.