The Best Countries to Start a Business Are . . .

Opportunities exist everywhere — not just in your own home country or hometown. While much has been said about globalization and our increasingly connected world, if you’re starting a business, your first thought might not be to launch it in, say, Denmark.

But it turns out that Denmark is actually a very good idea: The World Bank Group has ranked that Scandinavian nation third in the world in terms of ease of doing business there. By comparison, the United States ranks eighth.

Depending on your target audience and its needs, plus taxation laws, the nature of the local workforce and other factors, doing business overseas just might offer advantages to you that exceed those of the country where you live right now.

Starting with a place you may be familiar with, here are some of the best countries to consider when starting a business:

The United States

What makes the United States a good country to start a business in? The workforce is diverse and skilled. It is a recognized leader in research and development as well as innovation. You can also find a wide variety of funding sources: investment firms, banks, venture capitalists and angel investors.

The U.S. Small Business Administration suggests that you should first determine your business needs, evaluate your finances, check to see if the area is business friendly and do investigative research on other businesses in the community.

In an interview with Virgin.com, James Wilkinson, COO of Streaming Tank , extoled the benefits of business in New York. “People in New York are open and hungry to new ideas and concepts,” he said, “and once you open the doors their money will follow.” He added that New York is where much of the action happens within an organization.

The Big Apple, then, is at the center of the action. But places like Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle and other U.S. cities are also often cited as being good cities to launch businesses in.

Singapore

Singapore has long been considered one of the best places to do business in the world. Hawksford Singapore is an example of a company that located there and an investor, Jim Rogers, told GuideMeSingapore.com why. Among other reasons, Rogers said, Singapore is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, is politically stable, has a strong labor force and imposes no dividend or capital gains taxes.

In 2011, former CD Baby founder and entrepreneur Derek Sivers wrote on his blog about why he too moved to Singapore, citing the ease of doing business there. In particular, Sivers noted that flights…