Have you long thought about opening up your own business somewhere, but the talk of hard economic times has you thinking twice? The truth about the recession is that some areas have been hit a lot harder than others. Sure, people who sell used woodworking machines and other specialty equipment have not done so well as people cut down on their hobbies in many places in order to stretch their dollars. But some businesses are still doing just as well here in 2010 as they were four years ago.

In fact, in some places and cities in the United States, even fringe type businesses continue to thrive. These are essentially economic islands in the middle of the wide sea of recession, some are larger than others. And people living in a Hartford zip can tell you they live almost dead center in the safest location of all.

Hartford is located right in one of the wealthiest states in the entire country. It has long been recognized for its quality of life as well as the myriad services available here; you can find everything from jobs in the high tech sector (it is one of the most wired metro areas in the United States) to work in food and beverage public relations.

The average citizen in Hartford makes well above the average wage in the country, which means there is plenty of money to go around. That is appealing for any prospective business owner, whether you are looking to start up a veterinarian clinic or one of the franchises Canada is shipping south these days. People here are still looking for new goods, opportunities, and services to take advantage of.

In fact, Hartford's potential as a place of business is recognized by expert and reliable sources such as CNN. The money division of the news giant placed the city fifth on a list of the best places in the country to start a new business. They based this on affordable employees, stable real estate costs, and low crime rates.

Good real estate prices are good news for business owners, who don't want to have too much of their bottom line eaten away by high rent costs. Commercial mortgage lenders in Hartford can tell you that with prices staying on an even keel in the city, rents neither skyrocket or plummet. That means you stand to win even if you choose to buy the property on which you want to do business outright.

Many people in the labor pool of Hartford are well educated, but that just makes it easier for those looking to hire people for a business doing brochure printing online. The workers looking for jobs include students who want to pay their way through school without getting into debt. It's the perfect labor market for many small businesses.