What's your ease of doing business index?

I was having coffee last week with the president of a window manufacturing company and we got to chatting about how difficult state regulations can sometimes make running a profitable business. There are some serious hoops to jump through, and then there's the issue of taxes. I'm not sure if it was the topic of conversation or the extra caffeine, but it's easy to get your heart pumping on a topic like this.

Some of you may be familiar with Doing Business 2009 report. Basically, it ranks the ease of doing business in countries around the globe from 1 to 181, with 1 being the best. The U.S. ranks third overall in the 2009 version, but comes in at number 46 in taxes. In last year's version, the U.S. was number 79 in taxes so I guess we're getting better in that arena. (To see the U.S.'s rankings in various categories, see this comparison chart.)

For this week's poll, I'd like to create my own "ease of doing business" rankings for our industry. If you don't mind, can you please tell me what hurdle on my list makes it most difficult for your company to run a profitable business. I'm sure more than one applies, so feel free to email me and tell me why you picked your number one choice, and how some of the other options affect you as well.

The thing that makes it most difficult for my company to operate is: Start-up or expansion costs Dealing with codes, permits, etc. Employing workers Getting credit Paying taxes Legal issues If poll form doesn't work in your email, Click Here.

Contact Christina Lewellen, senior editor, at clewellen@glass.org.