Coloradans flocking to entrepreneurship as small business filings surge [Video]

COLORADO SPRINGS — Whisper Mondragon is the proud new small business owner of Unique Play Place and Unique Work Place.

A business where parents with remote jobs can work while their children have supervised care right next door.

“Our memberships range from drop-in day passes around $20 all the way to full-time co-working memberships,” said Mondragon.

She opened her doors just weeks ago. For her starting a new business in Colorado was a years-long process, partly due to the pandemic, but also because of hurdles with childcare licensing.

Mondragon is far from the only employee turned entrepreneur post-2020.

“We’ve had a huge surge in new business applications nationwide, but also in the state and in the region since the pandemic,” says Dr. Bill Craighead, Director of the UCCS Economic Forum.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, colorado had nearly 139,000 new business applications in 2023, leading the nation in a …