Sonoma’s economic climate looks strong and headed for better days, according to a survey of local business leaders released Wednesday.
Conducted by the Sonoma Valley Economic Vitality Partnership (SVEVP), the survey asked its members for their opinion of Sonoma’s economic outlook for the coming year.
“There’s a lot of good news in our local economy,” said Laurie Decker, program manager for the Sonoma Valley Economic Vitality Partnership. The partnership is a collaboration of the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sonoma, which conducts a similar survey every year.
“We do the survey in support of our goal of business retention and expansion,” said Decker. “We typically don’t actively recruit specific businesses, but we do try to ‘lay the groundwork’ for business development, by supporting things like permit streamlining, strong networking systems, good data, and generally a business-friendly environment.”
Among results of the survey, 75 percent of local Sonoma business owners said their economic environment had improved during the last year and that the trend would continue into 2015. Owners were asked to rate the business environment of the city, with an overwhelming number of them mentioning strengths such as Sonoma’s attractiveness as a destination for customers, the town’s “sense of community” and the ability of business to meet and network.
However, the survey found that many business owners are worried about potential pitfalls to hiring local employees, such as a lack of training opportunities and affordable housing. More then 50 percent of respondents said the cost of living in Sonoma was problematic. Critical comments within the survey ranged from local employers claiming too many in Sonoma’s workforce “can’t bridge the cost of living in Sonoma Valley” to affordable rental housing being difficult to find.
”We conduct this survey as a way of bringing attention to the issues business owners are concerned about,” said Decker. “The availability of housing for the workforce, and hiring qualified local people were at the top of issues local businesses wanted to see improved.”
To that end, Decker said, the SVEVP is working with Sonoma Valley Teen Services on workshops to train teenagers for work and give them the skills needed to succeed at any job. The SVEVP will also be conducting workshops throughout the month of October on everything from labor law updates to wine tasting room sales and food and beverage cost controls.
“We consider ourselves a resource organization designed to support local businesses and help preserve the historic character of Sonoma,” added Decker.
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