Arkansas: Land of Opportunity for Entrepreneurs

Arkansas may be “The Natural State,” but you may not know it is also the “Land of Opportunity” for entrepreneurs.

Businesses started by entrepreneurs in Arkansas range in size from small startups to industry-leading corporations. These businesses run the gamut from the retail industry to trucking to technology to outdoor recreation and beyond. But there’s one common thread between these entrepreneurs, no matter their background or what their businesses are – they all saw an opportunity to start a business and dove right in.

In the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s latest State Report on Early-Stage Entrepreneurship in the United States, Arkansas had the highest opportunity share for new entrepreneurs, which indicates the “percentage of new entrepreneurs who created a business out of choice instead of necessity.” The report showed that Arkansas had a 93.1 percent opportunity share for entrepreneurs. By comparison, the median opportunity share in the United States was 79.1 percent.

The “opportunity share” metric was one of four early-stage measures of entrepreneurial activity that the Kauffman Foundation looked at in its report. These metrics indicate the level of new business creation in individual states and the United States.

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