New Orleans is known for its rich history and vibrant culture. People come to the city to enjoy themselves and have a good time. Thanks to the rising trend of remote-work across the country, many thousands of knowledge-workers have left the states such as California and New York to take advantage of the culture, laid-back lifestyle and relatively low living costs of beautiful New Orleans. 

Anyone starting a business in New Orleans can take advantage of a world-class city with a reasonable cost of living and relatively affordable property prices. With several universities and colleges, employers can take advantage of a talented labor pool of workers too. For this reason, New Orleans has experienced an influx of young entrepreneurs in recent years, with many digital media and technology companies calling the city their home. With organizations such as Idea Village and Net2No located in the Big Easy, New Orleans has a unique combination of culture, history and modern technology.

New Orleans, of course, was founded because of its proximity to the Mississippi, which reaches 30 states. Often described as the entrance to the heartland of America, New Orleans already boasts a diverse and robust economy in industries including energy, manufacturing, international trade and tourism.

Remote Work Technology

Technological innovation and infrastructure have allowed remote work to go mainstream and, to a certain degree, tackle the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before the pandemic, companies such as WordPress had adopted a distributed-teams and remote working model. 

Remote management tools are essential when it comes to remote work productivity. 

Software such as Asana allows effective task management and coworking on tasks and projects, even when employees are located thousands of miles away from each other. Based in New Orleans, Align won an award for the best tech startup in 2020 for New Orleans and Louisiana. The software provides a framework for companies to scale and grow efficiently, with the ability to map out business priorities, growth planning and tracking. Ideal for remote work, Align helps employees stay engaged and work together to execute key priorities.

Outsourcing & Infrastructure

With the technology in place to allow employees to work from home and entrepreneurs to start a business in New Orleans from their spare bedroom, the trend of outsourcing will likely continue to rise into late 2021 and 2022. In 2020, for example, I.T. departments spend on outsourcing continued to increase from 12.7% to 13.6% 

Tools specifically designed to help and assist remote startups have also developed rapidly since the start of the pandemic. For example, Monitask provides employee monitoring software for remote outsourcing teams. Meanwhile, Moneypenny provides handpicked virtual receptionists that, for all intents and purposes, provide the services of a full-time in-house receptionist at a fraction of the cost. They also offer a 24/7 answering service that is perfect for startups that operate in different time zones. 

Exodus From the Big Cities

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many to work remotely, thousands of workers have seized the opportunity to enjoy a more relaxed pace of life and a cheaper or larger home by moving out of the big cities such as L.A. and New York to more suburban and rural areas. 

Thanks to the culture and more relaxed community spirit found in New Orleans and surrounding towns such as Ponchatoula; many workers have relocated to the area to take advantage of the relatively low cost of property. Louisiana offers an entirely different way of life compared to a typical U.S. city center but also boasts a thriving startup community and excellent logistical infrastructure for eCommerce and warehousing businesses. 

Why New Orleans?

As outlined previously, New Orleans has a unique offering of culture, history, affordable housing and logistical access. What’s more, although New Orleans does not have the networking opportunities that Silicon Valley could offer, the state helps significantly, with a 25% tax break for digital media companies, plus 10% on human capital costs. 

Not only can you start and run a business for much less in New Orleans, compared to Silicon Valley or New York, but you can also access governmental support and become part of a vibrant, ambitious startup community. As well as tax breaks, there is also a tax credit scheme that startups can take advantage of.

The state is one of the best in the country when it comes to business assistance and incentives. For a complete list of the current incentive programs, you can visit opportunitylouisiana.com

.New Orleans has a growing startup community and a vibrant and close-knit community in general – something that is difficult to find in metropolitan city areas. After Katrina hit in 2005, the state and the government have put a lot of work and money into re-developing and invigorating the region economically. In line with this mindset, as well as ambitious high-tech companies establishing a base in the city, there are also a large number of non-profits looking to do good while doing well. Authenticity and character are what New Orleans is about, and it’s the same with the business infrastructure and makeup. 

There is also a solid and diverse talent pool in regards to the labor market in New Orleans. Many people are moving to and moving back to New Orleans, especially from states such as California. New Orleans is the perfect location for creative businesses, and as such, is home to many marketing and ad agencies. 

How to Start a Business in New Orleans

There are two ways to form an LLC in the state of Louisiana – you can form one yourself or pay a service provider to do it for you.

You will need to decide on a name for your LLC. Keep in mind that every state has slightly different requirements regarding what they allow for LLC names. Generally speaking, your business must include the phrase Limited Liability Company or an abbreviation. If you want to include the words “law,” “bank,” or “attorney” in your business name, you may have to provide additional paperwork, and you may also need to provide evidence of any relevant law or banking credentials of at least one employee.

You generally can’t use any words in the company name that could be confused with a government agency or department. For example, you probably won’t be able to include “FBI” in your business name. The main hurdle when naming your business, however, is usually finding a name that hasn’t already been taken. You can check this on the Louisiana Secretary of State website here. If you’re still struggling to find a name, you can always turn to a powerful business name generator to act as a springboard for creativity.

Bear in mind that you will also probably want to register a relevant domain name for your business website. To check if your business name is available as a domain name, you can use a website such as HostGator or name.com.

Once you have your name sorted out, you will need to nominate an individual as a “registered agent” to be your business’s point of contact with the state. This can be someone within the company or a professional service.

Next, you will need to file the “Articles of Organization.” For a step-by-step guide on how to do this, check out this webpage. Once you have taken care of the Articles of Organization, you must create an “Operating Agreement.” This establishes ownership terms and member roles for the LLC.

Finally, you will need to obtain an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. An EIN can be obtained from the IRS online or through the mail.