The article also warns that high crime rates in Lafayette are a drawback though it does concede that “experts say the town is generally safe for retirees, and that criminal activity is concentrated in just a few rough neighborhoods, Lafayette ranked 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 for crime, according to Sperling’s Best Places. “

With more than 194,000 votes, Lafayette beat its nearest competitor Louisville by nearly 35,000 votes. Lafayette beat its in-state competitor of New Orleans (3rd place winner) with nearly 4 times as many votes. Also in the running were Birmingham, Ala., Houston, Raleigh, NC, Decatur, Ga., Charleston, SC, New Orleans, Charlottesville, Virg., and Baltimore.

This win comes on the heels of Lafayette being named Best of the Road for food in the nation by USA Today and Rand McNally.

In a statement released by the governor’s office, Governor Bobby Jindal said “ This ranking is yet another example of Louisiana’s strong economic momentum and positive business climate. By eliminating burdensome business taxes, reining in spending, overhauling ethics laws, and revamping our workforce development system, Louisiana now has one of the best business climates in the country. We’ve made great progress, but we must continue to make Louisiana more attractive to companies who want to expand or invest here, and that means pursuing bold education reforms to make sure we have a skilled workforce that is prepared for jobs in the 21st century workforce.”

Site Selection’s Governor’s Cup rankings are based on the quantity of new and expanded facilities as tracked by Conway Data Inc.’s New Plant Database, which focuses on new corporate location projects with significant impact. It does not track retail and government projects, schools or hospitals. New facilities and expansions included in the rankings must meet at least one of three criteria: (1) capital investment of at least $1 million; (2) creation of at least 50 new jobs; or (3) new construction of at least 20,000 square feet.

About Site Selection
Site Selection magazine, published by Conway Data Inc., delivers expansion-planning information to 44,000 executives of fast-growing firms. Read more about Site Selection’s Governor’s Cup Awards at www.siteselection.com.

On a more positive note, the average sales price for new homes rose 8% to $233,700. This could suggest that builders are confident for the future and holding back in anticipation of future sales.

In regards to home resales, a mild winter and increase in job growth has positively affected the market. The number of home resales rose in February.

• Connections Women’s Networking Group-Friday, March 2nd from 11:30-1:00. Please RSVP 235-8252 .Buffet City.

• Networking Women in Business- Thursday, March 22nd from 6:30-9:00 PM. Please RSVP 981-0623. Copeland’s Restaurant.

• Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce -Building Community Conference ( Chamber Members Get First Tickets)- March 21st -23rd at L’Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles, La. For more information please call Angelle Theriot at (337)-408-3657.

What do the changes mean for small businesses?

1- Addition of the cover photo.

• Just like what we’ve seen on personal pages, facebook has added cover photos to the tops of business pages. This will allow much greater customization of pages as businesses can upload pictures that will span across the top of their pages.

2- Messaging for Pages

• One of the features that many business owners thought was lacking from the previous iteration of the business page was the ability for subscribers to send a direct message to a Facebook page. As timelines are rolled out, this feature has been added making it easier for customers to interact with businesses without having to make a public posting.

3- Admin Panel

• Another feature making timelines easier for business owners is he new administration panel that will allow brands to track the page’s performance, get notified of people interacting with the pages, and, in a first for brand pages, respond to private messages sent by fans. And it’s easier to highlight posts, hide them, or delete them.

Contracts have shown a marked difference since the Summer of 2010 when confidence was low as consumers feared a second recession.

It’s important to note that contracts do not necessary mean home sales but the sales agreement index is typically a good indicator of the direction of the home buying market. There’s typically a one to two month drag between the signing of a contract and the completion of a deal.

The key to good content on your Facebook page is to make it interesting enough that your subscribers feel compelled to comment, and share. For a business consultant, this could be posting articles that you think are relevant to your clients or if you are a retail store, it might be a picture of a new product you are particularly excited about. Each business and organization is different and you’ll have to invest time and experiment to figure out what types of posts encourages the most engagement.

How often should you post? The answer depends on many things. Though it is important to be consistent and post at least a few times per week, it’s also important not to post too often. Even the best content, if posted too often can be viewed as spam.

The report highlights several new business investments that have been committed to the state and breaks down achievements made by each of the state’s regions.

To download the full report, click here.