According to a new study from Portfolio.com and American City Business Journals, Austin Texas is the best metropolitan area in the U.S. for starting a small business. The city's population growth, employment rate and burgeoning small-business growth helped it earn the No. 1 spot. It was followed by Baton Rouge, La., Raleigh, N.C., Charleston, S.C., and Portland, Maine.

Last place… Detroit.

Sad to see that my hometown of Nashville came in at #28, but that is an improvement over last year’s ranking of 33.