USA vs. UK: Where is It Easier to Set Up Shop?

Often, it isn’t the lack of a good idea or entrepreneurial spark that stops new startups flourishing, it’s the barriers to entry in the market itself. New startups often underestimate the costs imposed on new business by the country they are in, making it too difficult to do business in your homeland. Seeking that ‘greener grass on the other side’ is often tempting, so we compared two of the West’s most business-minded nations, the United States and the United Kingdom, to determine which is easier to both do business and start a new one.

The World Bank ranks countries on a number of criteria to determine which is the best for business and then represents that data using 10 indicators, which are:

• Starting a Business
• Dealing with Construction Permits
• Getting Electricity
• Registering Property
• Getting Credit
• Protecting Minority Investments
• Paying Taxes
• Trading Across Borders
• Enforcing Contracts
• Resolving Insolvency

Taking into account all of these indicators, the UK comes in at number 9, one place behind the United States, with the US ranking very highly in both the availability of credit and resolving insolvency. The US is also considered very strong at enforcing contracts, a very important thing for new and small businesses trying to break into markets dominated by larger companies.

When it comes to starting a business however, the USA comes in at 53rd, a full 34 places behind the UK at 19th. Why is this? The World Bank ranks the US quite low in some basic things such as getting electricity and registering property, as well as more socially-minded things such as protecting minority investments. This has led to a rise in companies being set up to aid in navigating all the laws and customs that might be different from their homeland. Foothold America have an in-depth guide into branching out state-side. Below is an infographic detailing with some of the key points of the guide: