"I was a little bit surprised to be on the list," of trouble spots, said John Stavig, director of the Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. In May, the state's unemployment rate was just 6.6%, compared to the national average of 9.1% at that time. Indeed, aside from the loss of small businesses, 1,227 during the period studied, "it's doing quite well," said Stein.
Stavig noted that the period between 2007 and 2008 was a rare period of stalled job growth and conceded that sometimes "Minnesota struggles with a less risk-adverse nature, which is a challenge for entrepreneurs.
"Still, with a reasonable cost of living, highly educated populace, and supportive community, the area has tremendous prospects for small businesses, he said. "You can do things here that would cost significantly more on the coasts," he said. "It's an attractive market that's positioned well for growth."
A low loan failure rate is a vote of confidence both for the franchise business model -- or concept -- and for the people involved. The following franchises all had relatively low loan failure rates.
