Flint Township View

The Genesee County Business Landscape Analysis needs your input

The VIEW from here


 

 

This column is aimed primarily at local business owners and operators in Genesee County. But anyone who’s employed by one of our local businesses, or a family member or friend of an owner/operator, should also pay heed to the following request.

We need your input. By “we,” I mean the Flint & Genesee Chamber along with our Ann Arbor-based research partner, EntryPoint. The “input” we are seeking are your responses to the survey questions contained within the 2021 Genesee County Business Landscape Analysis.

The goal of this survey is straightforward: to strengthen Genesee County’s business community in 2021 and beyond. That means, in part, devising and implementing effective programs and marshalling the right resources that will enable local businesses to thrive, regardless of size or industry sector.

However, an assessment or understanding of the current conditions – such as, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – is required before we can employ the right tools for the job ahead. In addition, the survey needs a good sample size, or response rate, to be statistically significant. Therefore, we are working to get at least 650 businesses to respond by Feb. 28.

We want to hear from retail shops and restaurants, professional services and manufacturers, recreational facilities and everything else in between. The operation may be large or small. It doesn’t matter. Tell us about the challenges of operating a small business in Genesee County and about the issues that are unique to our community.

“The responses from the survey will provide critical insight into the

small business ecosystem across Genesee County,” said EntryPoint Founder and Managing Director Emily Heintz, quoted in the current issue AND magazine. “The resulting report will help local development organizations and community leaders be better advocates for the business community and promote the growth of programs that will help the county move forward and come out of the pandemic stronger together.”

The survey takes about 7 minutes to complete and can be accessed from the Chamber’s website at flintandgenesee.org/survey. Rest assured that all personal information, individual responses and data shared on the survey is confidential.

Lastly, although the survey targets business owners and operators, employees as well as friends and family members can help spread the word among local businesses about the Genesee County Business Landscape Analysis. We understand business owners and operators are, well, often busy running their businesses and may have overlooked previous communications about the survey. So, any extra encouragement is welcomed.

To a large extent, the health of the business community defines our sense of place and its livability. We look forward to a robust response that will yield the kind of critical information vital to moving our region forward.

For questions regarding the survey or research initiative, please contact Tyler Rossmaessler, director of economic development at the Flint & Genesee Chamber, at trossmaessler@flintandgenesee.org.

Tim Herman is the CEO of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce.