Why Ohio Valley’s Small Businesses Aren’t Struggling More Than Big Cities
For years, the assumption has been simple: businesses in smaller regional markets face steeper odds than their counterparts in major metropolitan areas. Limited capital, thinner customer bases, and less access to venture funding supposedly stack the deck against places like the Ohio Valley. That framing gets repeated so often it rarely gets questioned. But a closer look at recent data tells a more complicated story. Ohio's small-business sector isn't just holding steady — it's expanding at a pace that outstrips many assumptions built into the "big city advantage" narrative. Growth ...