In many ways, there is no better time than now to start your own business and exercise your entrepreneurial spirit. For the most part, the economic talk in the U.S. and abroad has been pretty dismal. Economies are crashing, debt is soaring, politics is polarized, and jobs are hard to come by throughout much of the world. While these social factors often fluctuate and looking at things on a global scale can be difficult, nonetheless college graduates today face a challenging situation. More and more academically qualified applicants are finding it difficult to land a position in the professional world. Of course, with all this being said, there is no reason to feel without hope. If anything, the employment struggles the younger generation faces today only encourages new avenues of employment and business. Entrepreneurial efforts find themselves at an exciting crossroads. While starting your own business is difficult in a downtrodden economy, new businesses can be one of the most profitable and successful ventures. These three cities across the globe boast some of the best marks for business-starting potential.              

Houston, Texas

For the most part, Houston is a major U.S. city that is consistently overlooked from the global perspective. While the city has been making many a headline within the States, the world as a whole doesn't typically consider Houston an entrepreneurial hub. However, Houston comes in at the number two slot for the cost of owning a business space, entrepreneurial environment, and life satisfaction. Houston is large and happening. With tons of people and tons of space, it's not hard to understand why there is also tons of business. Starting and running a business in Houston is smart because cost of living is low and the economy is strong. But, of course, there are always drawbacks. Houston has never been considered a "global" city. While Houstonians love the place and U.S. business owners praise it, the world seems to overlook it pretty easily.

Sydney, Australia

Sydney has been among the top cities for business in the world for some time now. Coming in at the number one slot for ease of starting a business, housing (availability, cost, quality), and number two slot for life satisfaction, it's not hard to see why Sydney is so highly praised. Sydney is the only city of all the cities worldwide to make the Atlantic's list that ranks in the top five for ease of doing business, livability, health, and safety. International surveys across the board rank Sydney as the number one best place to start a business.

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm is another city that commonly makes the lists as one of the best cities for business. With fewer than one million people, Stockholm is one of the smallest cities to earn this distinction. As online entrepreneurship continues to grow and expand, digital economy and internet access can play a huge role in the success of a city. Stockholm ranks in at number one for digital economy activity, entrepreneurial environment, intellectual property protection, internet access and number two for broadband quality. Each of these factors plays a huge role in the stability and success of online business efforts. While Stockholm sounds like a business owner's paradise, there are some downsides. The city has very high taxes and the cost of starting and running a business can be daunting for the self-employed.

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Pepper Givens writes about educational topics for www.onlinecolleges.net. Pepper is passionate about all things related to higher education and is particularly interested in the challenging transition from college to the professional realm. She welcomes your comments below.