Evidence Based Entrepreneurship, De Constructing Colorado – Golden, The Silver Bullet – Issue 2

 

First things first, Golden, Colorado is home to an american original that has been and continues to be a favorite of many.

With that being said, lets take a closer look at Golden, Colorado. I have included a few maps that show the boundaries of the city of Golden as well as the zip codes that are associated with Golden. This is important because if you plan to start a business within the boundaries of the city map,you will be dealing with the City of Golden. For the most part areas outside the city, inside Jefferson County and not within another city, you deal with the county. Remember this is Colorado so the landscape is beautiful and confusing. The second and third maps are the zip code boundaries of what the post office refers to as Golden. Everything will make less sense soon so don’t worry.

Golden has a vision and that is great when planning the economic future of a city.

When you hit their website it is not hard to find this:

The fact that they have the program tells you why it is worth looking at as a place to start a business. The odds are in the favor of the savvy business person when you live in a state ranked 4th in starting a new business and 4th in running a business. Sounds like easy into the market and easy when established, with the variable of IF factor, of course. A good business person in a bad area can make it work and the same is true for the flip side of that coin. That is of course IF you try to have a successful business because we all know that sustainability is the key and running a clean, lean, mean, efficient business is often a good way to survive.

The other reason I found important to Golden is their involvement in Economic Gardening. Take a look at my last post for some information about the Economic Gardening Program.

Golden has a 7.5 ratio of Accredited Investors to New Businesses in the past 12 Months

Good ratio when the state is at 2.2. Golden looks good, has a nice economic base with a successful brewery and a nice College with a good reputation. The only thing I found to be a little hard to nail down at first and just like all other areas, the post office is not the best place to rely on exact borders and city designations. The chart and maps  below show Golden, what is considered Golden for mailing purposes, populations, and business counts well as the numbers for the zip codes and what they are actually made up of as far as cities.

Clear as mud right? Take a look at the maps below for some clarification. There is a good amount of work involved in actually learning about an area and depending on your business, different areas will yield different experiences. A wise, very tall man once said (or maybe said 1,000 times) “There is no bad place to start a business”. The only time I disagree with that is when it is user error. It is bad to start somewhere without finding out more about the area. Just saying that you want to have a business in Denver doesn’t mean it is the best choice for the type of business, cost of operations, pool of talent and so on.

Enjoy some maps detailing Golden and what is called Golden

The Black Border Shows the City of Golden City Limits

If you are living here in Colorado, chances are you drive in the mountains and there sure is a lot of space with those big rock formations and trees and woods and so on. Some of the space is federal land and other is state land and other land is owned by cities. Just Northwest of Golden in the mountains is a tiny town named Baltimore. It is a ghost town and in my mind I see a ghost Ray Lewis. Check this out… Baltimore, Colorado

The map below represents zip code 80403, which is considered Golden. Look at how big and far that zip codes goes and compare the numbers on the chart above. There are more people in this zip code than in Golden and this is only one of the zip codes. See the chart below the map for a reality check on the actual cities included in 80403.

Zip Code 80403 - Very Big and 14% is actually the City of Golden

Below is 80401, which is the other zip code associated with Golden. There are actually two others, one dedicated to the government and one that is all P.O. Boxes. Remember that we will want to explore that P.O.Box thing in the future. As you can see below, this zip code is a lot larger than the city limits of Golden.

Zip Code 80401 - Population 38,580

That main road makes a great place for a storefront and a lot of charming businesses inside the city limits of Golden. Those zip codes are big though and obviously everything that the post office states is Golden is not really Golden now is it. Especially just about anything south of I-70. Well there are 4,723 businesses in that zip code according to a reputable data source and that zip code is made up of the following cities:

That is all so far about Golden and I am sure you will see more. The plan is to take away some guess-work, busy work, and come up with ideas that as an entrepreneur, might not be at the top of your mind. It is good to know what to do and just as good to know what not to do. There is a lot of real estate in Colorado and we want to be sure you are happy with where you plan to place your stake in the ground.

Next up, my neighborhood… Englewood, I mean Centennial, well I am not sure… I better pick it apart and then tell you.

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Of Course Jon Has Something to Say – Go Ravens, Go Homemade Horn Lady

First off, go Ravens. It is not easy wearing a Ravens hat out of the house the same day they beat the hometown team. I am happy that they are getting it together in a way that allows both running, passing, and defense. They get better every year at including all three so I hope it sticks.

The second item is my Out of Office Notice. I am traveling to Baltimore to speak for a Dealer 20 Group and it gave me another opportunity to make a video. Some will watch and some will pass it over, the bottom line is that video produces better memories for people a lot of time and it also give a reason to laugh if funny, cry if sad, and sleep if boring.

What is More Entertaining?

I will be out of the office from October 18 – October 22. I will be available and working the whole  time, so feel free to call me or send an email. My information is on the blah blah blah.

or…

 

53 Second Profile – Have You Met Chris?

If you are in the security game or have had something locked down for data safety, maybe you have. Well here is the thing, there is a very good chance that your computer has met Chris’s becuase it has been around.

I always say, if you need it done…

Get it done right. The are a some things that when you want them done, you want it done right, such as:

     •  Protecting data

     •  Creating a safe environment to work online

     •  hacking into a RTD bus control panel and set off the brakes

     •  and probably most important, reconfiguring an Audi through it’s Bluetooth access point

Whether it is for the home or office, a big job or a quick project, Chris and O.W.L can show you some stuff.

Here’s my 2 cents… is 5 minutes of Chris’s time worth it financially. He can get in fast and it costs on the average over $900,000 to a company in a split second. If you need to be secure, you need to know the risks.

With that being said, Here is Chris…