I don’t know what kind of business he ran, but it’s certainly true that this seems to be a mostly service business oriented state. As well as a right to work state.
Another thing I’ve noticed is a lot of multi-level marketing things (I think that is the right terminology for them). I never got involved with those myself because, as someone new to the area, I was network-less!
As I recall it Elizabeth Smart's father was in a business related to real estate. That is gonzo these days
My contention is that all these nice little entrepreneurial service businesses end up serving each other with not much of a real net gain to the economy though this kind of activity generates GDP numbers
Entrepreneurism is great in theory but America is over saturated with small guy entrepreneurs "serving" peoples legitimate needs but many serve outsized desires.
Multi-level marketing appealed to the American spirit of working for yourself but lest get real. The best way to buy these multilevel products is direct at a retail store or direct over the internet. Multi-level means many people are getting a cut. The internet is the opposite and eliminates these layers
Things?
Or schemes?