To gain a better understanding of the current business climate, the Long Beach Small Business Development Center is conducting a Layoff Aversion Survey this month in partnership with groups such as the Downtown Long Beach Associates.

It’s a short survey, with just 15 questions pertaining to employee hiring, training and overall business growth (or, potentially, lack thereof). SBDC Director Mike Daniel said any business owner in Long Beach, Lomita, Signal Hill and Torrance is encouraged to respond so that the organization can assess the economic health of area businesses and prevent job loss.

The survey is being paid for as part of a $100,000 grant from Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network. The majority of that grant money will be used by SBDC (located on campus at Long Beach City College, with a satellite office downtown) to better serve stakeholders with more low-cost training, one-on-one consultations and other support.

“We want to get a better understanding of what the needs are, and as we find out what the needs are, we can better help the businesses we serve,” Daniel said.

Available online now, the survey will be available until the end of the month, with an extension into September if necessary, Daniel said. The results of the survey will be made available to the public as soon as the end of September.

“We need to understand what industries are thriving and what industries are in decline and make sure we are providing the right help for them,” Daniel said. “We will follow up with the owners who fill out the survey on an individual basis and help connect them to resources that they need.”

For employees at the Downtown Long Beach Associates, the survey is an opportunity for stakeholders to share information that can help the agency ensure that it is offering the most effective and needed services.

The DLBA provides complimentary assistance to businesses in the downtown area, helping with anything from permits, to site selection, to referring business owners to other resources. The DLBA also hosts informational workshops.

Brian Wallace, the DLBA’s economic development manager, said the survey results will better equip him with current information about the downtown area so that the DLBA can continue to bolster economic vitality.

“The biggest thing is to understand how well businesses are doing,” he said. “This survey will help us determine if there are certain resources they would like access to that we can provide or point them to so that they can do better.”

Although the survey is available to all Long Beach business owners and nonprofit organizations, the downtown area alone has about 1,700 active businesses, and Wallace said he hopes to hear from as many as possible.

Wallace added that the DLBA has, in the past, done surveys of stakeholders. He said the Layoff Aversion Survey allows the DLBA to collaborate with like-minded organizations and share information and visibility.

“This was a great opportunity for us since we were looking to do our own survey,” Wallace said. “We are just excited to get as much feedback as possible so that we can provide the right resources and assistance to our stakeholders.”

For details about the Layoff Aversion Survey, visit https://longbeachsbdc.org or call 938-5100. DLBA members, and members of some other business improvement districts in Long Beach, will be contacted via email.

Ashleigh Ruhl can be reached at aruhl@gazettes.com.

Article generously provided by Ashleigh Ruhl and Gazette 

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