News
NO. 9 WITH A BULLET
August 8, 2011
 | |
| The Lone Star State shot up to No. 9 on the State Entrepreneur Index, up from No. 34 in 2008. So our Houston Energy reporter spoke with University of Nebraska economics prof Eric Thompson, who tells us the improved position is a direct result of the growth of new businesses and because companies aren't going out of business. Eric adds that Texas is always a high-income earner when you look at gross receipts per proprietor. Other factors used to for the ranking: the number of patents per thousand residents and gross receipts of sole proprietorships and partnerships per capita. Who's atop of the heap? New York retained its crown from '09. | |
 | |
| We didn't want to rely solely on the academics, so we asked an entrepreneur for his thoughts. Lone Star Realty Advisors head honcho Todd Jones (who launched his company 13 months ago) says the CRE outlook was grim at the start but has had a great turnaround. "I had a core group of long-term clients and their vote of confidence inspired me to open the doors at Lone Star," he tells us. Todd's entrepreneurial spirit was born in college: he and a friend started a T-shirt business to cover monthly spending money while attending Texas Tech. (Guns up!) | |
 | |
| Cabot Properties recently tagged Todd to handle the leasing of a 125k SF warehouse at 1401 Lakeway Dr in Lewisville with about 38k SF of warehouse space available. He tells us he enjoys creating, running, and tweaking the company's business model. "You can truly appreciate how quickly you can impact your bottom line and adapt to meet your clients' needs," he says. Todd was inspired by leaders he worked with in Baltimore during his Trammell Crow days as well as the late Jerry Fults, a former colleague. "Their work ethics and determination showed me that just about anything could be accomplished in CRE inspired me," he says. "I saw them enjoy life because of what they were doing." |
