I’ve long speculated that Rhode Islanders start businesses at a healthy clip because the economy isn’t producing work at the level of hours and/or pay that they want.  That is why the Ocean State sees a lot of businesses struggle when they start formalizing things.  All the business stuff is too complicated, especially when the folks starting the businesses just want to do what people in their professions do.  Management is not really the job they were intending on building for themselves.

So, it’s not surprising to see Grant Welker of the Boston Business Journal report that Rhode Island saw some record business starts last year, when ordinary work patters were disrupted.

Welker also points to a SurePayroll study of startup-related Google searches.  It turns out, the most-searched prospect in the Ocean State was for starting a fitness company.  One imagines unemployed Rhode Islanders establishing fitness routines for themselves during lockdown and thinking, “Hey, I could do this for a living!”

While a concentration on good health is nice to see, I can’t help but think that, economically speaking, Massachusetts’s result as the only state in the country for which “consulting” is healthier.  Of course, it’s difficult to know what consulting even means to people!