Introduction | Economic Development Insight | Business Survey
Business Survey
Part of Expanded Business Retention & Expansion Progarm
Complete Survey Online | PDF File of Survey
The City of Upper Arlington and the Upper Arlington Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) are pleased to announce the launch of a formal business retention program. By having a City representative proactively meet with local businesses, it is hoped the City and CIC can amass pertinent information on the local business climate and expand their understanding of the needs of existing businesses, with the end goal of helping these businesses stay and grow within the community.
“It is important to the City and CIC that the community’s businesses know we and our residents value them,” said Patty Dalton, Deputy City Manager – Economic Development. “We also want to hear from local companies what we, as a local government, can do to better serve them, helping them remain in Upper Arlington and be more successful.”
According to a statistic provided by The Ohio State University, existing businesses create up to 85% of all new jobs which of itself speaks to the importance of retaining existing businesses in Upper Arlington in order to encourage such job growth in this community. Concurrently, only by retaining businesses can the existing commercial tax base expand as new businesses locate in Upper Arlington. Of equal importance, retaining businesses in Upper Arlington helps meet residents’ daily service and retail needs.
The City is undertaking this effort to assist the CIC with the support of The Ohio State University Business Retention & Expansion Initiative. This affiliation provides access to successful business retention information and tools such as surveys, software and staff.
Effective early June, the City has contracted with former Upper Arlington resident and consultant Linda Readey to perform on-site business retention calls on its behalf. The interviews and information collected by Readey will be provided to the CIC for the purposes of relocation, location, expansion, improvement or the preservation of businesses in the City. The information will be used to identify and remedy existing or potential problems, as well as increase understanding of the local business environment. Knowing more about local businesses will allow the City to better support these companies and use the knowledge to recruit businesses, which will bring synergy to the existing business mix.
In addition to the in-person meetings conducted by Readey, a version of the business survey will be mailed to all Upper Arlington businesses, with a request that it be completed and returned by mail or completed online.
“We strongly encourage companies to participate in the survey,” continued Dalton. “The more information we can compile, the more complete our business picture will be and the better we can support them.”
For more information on the Upper Arlington Business Retention & Expansion program, please contact Matt Shad at 614-583-5046 or mshad@uaoh.net.
July 2005
Matt Shad
Deputy City Manager-Economic Development
City Manager's Office
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221
Phone: 614-583-5046
Fax: 614-457-6620
www.ua-ohio.net
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