In our ongoing effort to improve our customer service, the City of Carlsbad commissioned BW Research, a Carlsbad-based company, to conduct a business survey, and the results provide encouraging news for our local business community.
BW surveyed more than 200 businesses, and nearly nine out of 10, 87 percent, said they regard the city as an excellent (39 percent) or good (48 percent) place to do business. Regarding confidence in the City of Carlsbad government, 75 percent of respondents said they were either very confident (25 percent) or somewhat confident (50 percent). And just over one-third (35 percent) think that the Carlsbad business climate is improving, whereas only 6 percent think it is worsening. (The survey has a margin of error of 6.25 percent.)
The economy is improving, with 34 percent of companies expecting to add employees over the next 12 months, and only 3 percent expecting to lose employees. This compares well with responses on employment changes over the past three years, when only 24 percent saw growth and 20 percent experienced a decline in employment. Most companies expected to maintain their current space in Carlsbad (85 percent) while some (8 percent) expect to expand.
Carlsbad has a strong mix of business, and we also have a larger portion (20 percent) of businesses that are either medium or large (10 employees or more) compared with the state of California as a whole (18 percent). While just more than 8 percent of our businesses have been here two years or less, the remaining 90 percent are equally distributed between companies that have been here two to five years, six to 10 years, 11 to 20 years, and more than 20 years.
We also wanted to know why businesses choose Carlsbad as their home. We knew that climate and quality of life would be big reasons, but we were a little surprised by the responses.
Thirty-five percent of respondents said that proximity to customers, collaborators and vendors is their top reason for locating here, and a nearly equal amount, 34 percent, said their reason for locating here is that their company's founders live here. Carlsbad's quality of life placed third in this category, with one in every six respondents saying that was the reason for locating here.
Fourteen percent said the reason is that their firm was spun off from a larger one, or it was purchased by a larger company, and 6 percent cited proximity to a skilled workforce.
The survey also indicates that many local businesses have a positive outlook for the future, with 35 percent of those surveyed expecting to grow this year by adding employees, and 58 percent expecting to maintain the same number.
Asked to identify the number one thing that the city could do to improve the local business climate, Carlsbad businesses named no single issue that resonated with at least 10 percent. In fact, the response "nothing needs improvement" scored 10 percent.
Some areas of concern for Carlsbad businesses are:
• Simplifying the fee, regulation and permitting process.
• Improving the downtown Carlsbad Village.
• Offering more business programs.
It's encouraging to know that our local business community and the City of Carlsbad are on the same page on these points, because the city has been working on streamlining the permitting process to make it easier and faster for applicants to get approvals. And the city has hired a consultant, Urban Place Consulting Group, to continue revitalization of the Village, which until recently was an official redevelopment district.
One thing we did learn from this survey is that businesses that received information from the city's Economic Development Division were more satisfied with Carlsbad as a place to do business than those that didn't. We will continue our outreach efforts through periodicals like the Carlsbad Business Journal and our online newsletter along with improving the infrastructure and services at the city to help Carlsbad businesses succeed.
As any good manager knows, good service never quits.
BW surveyed more than 200 businesses, and nearly nine out of 10, 87 percent, said they regard the city as an excellent (39 percent) or good (48 percent) place to do business. Regarding confidence in the City of Carlsbad government, 75 percent of respondents said they were either very confident (25 percent) or somewhat confident (50 percent). And just over one-third (35 percent) think that the Carlsbad business climate is improving, whereas only 6 percent think it is worsening. (The survey has a margin of error of 6.25 percent.)
The economy is improving, with 34 percent of companies expecting to add employees over the next 12 months, and only 3 percent expecting to lose employees. This compares well with responses on employment changes over the past three years, when only 24 percent saw growth and 20 percent experienced a decline in employment. Most companies expected to maintain their current space in Carlsbad (85 percent) while some (8 percent) expect to expand.
Carlsbad has a strong mix of business, and we also have a larger portion (20 percent) of businesses that are either medium or large (10 employees or more) compared with the state of California as a whole (18 percent). While just more than 8 percent of our businesses have been here two years or less, the remaining 90 percent are equally distributed between companies that have been here two to five years, six to 10 years, 11 to 20 years, and more than 20 years.
We also wanted to know why businesses choose Carlsbad as their home. We knew that climate and quality of life would be big reasons, but we were a little surprised by the responses.
Thirty-five percent of respondents said that proximity to customers, collaborators and vendors is their top reason for locating here, and a nearly equal amount, 34 percent, said their reason for locating here is that their company's founders live here. Carlsbad's quality of life placed third in this category, with one in every six respondents saying that was the reason for locating here.
Fourteen percent said the reason is that their firm was spun off from a larger one, or it was purchased by a larger company, and 6 percent cited proximity to a skilled workforce.
The survey also indicates that many local businesses have a positive outlook for the future, with 35 percent of those surveyed expecting to grow this year by adding employees, and 58 percent expecting to maintain the same number.
Asked to identify the number one thing that the city could do to improve the local business climate, Carlsbad businesses named no single issue that resonated with at least 10 percent. In fact, the response "nothing needs improvement" scored 10 percent.
Some areas of concern for Carlsbad businesses are:
• Simplifying the fee, regulation and permitting process.
• Improving the downtown Carlsbad Village.
• Offering more business programs.
It's encouraging to know that our local business community and the City of Carlsbad are on the same page on these points, because the city has been working on streamlining the permitting process to make it easier and faster for applicants to get approvals. And the city has hired a consultant, Urban Place Consulting Group, to continue revitalization of the Village, which until recently was an official redevelopment district.
One thing we did learn from this survey is that businesses that received information from the city's Economic Development Division were more satisfied with Carlsbad as a place to do business than those that didn't. We will continue our outreach efforts through periodicals like the Carlsbad Business Journal and our online newsletter along with improving the infrastructure and services at the city to help Carlsbad businesses succeed.
As any good manager knows, good service never quits.