Ohio
Ohio named 1 of the top places to start a small business, study shows
CLEVELAND — Ohio is making the list yet again and garnering national attention; a new study shows that Buckeye State is one of the best places in America to start a small business.
This all comes as the Small Business Administration reports roughly 33 million in operations here in the U.S. Ohio is ranked the 6th best place in America to start a small business.
Research shows Ohio’s affordability and internal support make it a top spot to pursue your entrepreneurial dreams. And for many in Cleveland—it’s working out pretty well.
Molly Cheraso is still in the mix and mixing up plenty of mocktails and alcohol-free beverages inside her Ohio City shop.
“It is so close to the real thing that it gives you a placebo effect,” Cheraso said.
News 5 spoke to the Cleveland mom of two back in May of 2023, as she planned to ditch her career in finance and dive headfirst into small business ownership.
Northeast Ohio mom to open alcohol-free bar, hangout in Ohio City this summer
Northeast Ohio mom to open alcohol-free bar, hangout in Ohio City this summer
“It’s really a new concept for people, which is why I wanted to have a brick and mortar that was really accessible to people here in Cleveland,” Cheraso said.
She opened Verbena Free Spirited—Non-Alcoholic Cafe and Shoppe last July.
It’s located along West 29th Street in the heart of the historic neighborhood.
“We are thriving one year into our non-alcoholic journey here in Hingetown,” Cheraso said.
A new study from Lendio, dubbed a top marketplace for small business loans, just ranked Ohio as one of the top 10 best places to start a small business in America.
They broke down a series of metrics, which include survival rates of a small business, cost of living, business finances and tax incentives. Ohio ranked sixth overall this year. Last year, it was third.
“There are certainly incentive programs that Ohio has to try and help small businesses. But really, that cost of living is the big deal,” said Lockwood Reynolds, professor of economics at Kent State University.
Reynolds says Ohio has no corporate income tax rate, and overall, low taxes coupled with affordability are why it ranked so high.
He says the news is telling, as 5.5 million new business applications were filed last year.
“If you think about the difference between starting a business here in Ohio versus starting it in, you know, like San Francisco or something like that, it’s just the amount of money you would have to bring in from the customers to offset those much higher costs would just make it a very challenging environment,” Reynolds said.
Caitlin Shea moved to Cleveland from Canada 15 years ago as a pastry chef. She capitalized on the cost of living and warm environment.
She opened Philomena Bake Shop and continues to champion other entrepreneurs.
Ohio named 1 of top places to start a small business, study shows
“When a new business opens up, there’s a wellspring of support from neighbors and residents around the area,” Shea said.
As Cheraso continues to build up Verbena, she stresses that the first year in operation, at times, has its growing pains.
But between a strong support system of fellow entrepreneurs and community— coupled with small business loans, grants through the city and overall affordability—she says it’s all possible.
“These people here that have proven to me, they’ve been in business in this neighborhood for ten years with strong businesses. They’ve shown me like it’s very possible to keep a business up and running,” Cheraso said.
Cheraso stresses that all future business owners must research and review the overall demographics.
Consider the cost of living, your income, foot traffic in the neighborhood, and whether people want and need your product.
Everything is traditionally two to three times more expensive, so be prepared to shell out more cash.
She kept her day job as a parachute for the first year of her business.
The study also reports that small businesses in Ohio have a 53% survival rate compared to other states. Most typically make it past that crucial 5-year mark, which is major.
Florida, Texas, and North Carolina topped the list of other best places to start a small business.
For the full list, CLICK HERE.
Out of prison, Indiana’s caviar king back on Ohio River to find fishing holes taken
David Cox, of English, Indiana, says once he began setting his nets again after a two-year prison sentence and a three-year ban on commercial fishing, all of his once-secret spots were taken.
Can you eat fish from the Ohio River?
In 1975, future presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts, bet 20 pounds of New England cod that the Red Sox would defeat the Reds in the World Series. If things went south for Boston, Ohio governor James Rhodes promised to send Dukakis 10 pounds of Lake Erie perch and 10 pounds of Ohio River catfish. The Reds ended up winning and the cod was sent to the Convalescent Home for Children, in Cincinnati.
At the time, people were still eating catfish from the Ohio without too much concern. The fish were also served at several restaurants along the river.
There were warnings in 1977
But two years later, in 1977, The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission released the results of a study of contaminants found in the tissues of Ohio River fish. They warned anglers in cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Wheeling and Gallipolis that man-made chemicals known as PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, had been discovered in the river fish. Later, high concentrations of mercury were discovered in the fish, too.
Thanks to the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the environmental regulations that followed, the river is now cleaner than it was in the seventies. And it’s still teeming with a variety of fish, including catfish, striped bass, drum and black bass, among other species.
But even though PCBs were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979, they are still found in fish, since they remain in the sediment in the bottom of the river. “Organisms live in the sediment and fish feed on them,” Rich Cogen, the executive director of the Ohio River Foundation told The Enquirer. Mercury is also a big problem, according to Cogen.
So the question is: Can you eat fish caught in the Ohio River?
The short answer is yes. But it depends on what species you are eating and where along the river you caught it.
There are also very strict limitations on how frequently you should eat them, according to the web site for the Ohio Sport Fish Consumption Advisory, part of the Ohio Department of Health.
In areas of the river between the Belleville Lock, located 204 miles downstream from the river’s origins in Pittsburgh, to the Indiana border, the advisory agency currently recommends consuming Ohio River fish no more than once a month max. That area includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Hamilton, Lawrence, Meigs and Scioto counties.
Here’s where to check
Recommendations change throughout the year, but you can keep up by visiting the Ohio Department of Health’s Sport Fish Consumption Advisory page, which provides updated information on when certain fish, usually bottom feeders such as carp, are deemed too dangerous to eat at all.
Here’s who should take a pass on Ohio River fish
The agency also warns that people who are more likely to have health effects from eating contaminated fish, includingchildren younger than 15 years old, pregnant women and women who are planning to become pregnant to avoid Ohio River fish altogether.
Just because you have to limit the amount of fish you eat, doesn’t mean the river is a bad place for fishing, as long as you limit your intake or do catch-and-release fishing. Just make sure you have a proper fishing license before casting your line.
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The Just Askin’ series aims to answer the questions that no one seems to have an answer for, except maybe Google.
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It isn’t over until it’s over. That’s the case for both the UCLA Bruins football program recruiting and for quarterback Brady Edmunds. Edmunds is currently committed to head to Ohio State but he took a visit from UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy earlier this week.
Kennedy met Edmunds on Thursday despite the fact that the quarterback has been committed to the Buckeyes since December of 2024 but could the UCLA Bruins be making a run at flipping the quarterback?
Edmunds has only had an official visit with Ohio State but could UCLA heave a heat check on the 6’5” quarterback? New UCLA head coach Bob Chesney is off to an unbelievable start to his recruiting with the Bruins and flipping a recruit of Edmunds’ caliber would be his most impressive move yet.
247 Sports has Edmunds as the No. 16 quarterback in the class, which would give UCLA a clear predecessor for Nico Iamaleava whenever the Bruins current starting quarterback decides to head to the professional level.
It’d be a full circle moment for the Bruins, as Edmunds was originally recruited to Ohio State by former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who bailed on UCLA to go run the Buckeyes offense. Ohio State is a great spot for a developing quarterback, as the Buckeyes produce tons of NFL talent, especially at the wide receiver position, which would help Edmunds put up some gaudy numbers in Columbus.
Chesney and the Bruins have geography on their side, Edmunds attends Huntington Beach High School in Southern California, which could potentially become a factor if Edmunds views UCLA as a program on the rise that’d be much closer to his friends and family than out in Ohio.
Time will tell if Kennedy’s visit will make a difference but UCLA’s recruiting has made waves in the first offseason under Chesney and the new regime.
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