Business Trends newsletter March 24, 2008
A glass-half-full view of the apparent recession
Our contributing economist, Michael Goodman, told a recent business gathering in Plymouth that our regional economy won’t escape the nationwide recession, but the slowdown here has a very good chance of being far less traumatic than many other locations across Massachusetts and the United States.
His assessment reflects recent housing numbers that show an actual improvement year-to-year in sales volume, although prices are slipping. That alone distinguishes the market south of Boston.
Goodman, who is managing editor of MassBenchmarks, the quarterly published by the University of Massachusetts and the Boston Federal Reserve, offered up these observations:
• While residential activity is suffering, commercial building remains surprisingly strong, with demand continuing to outpace supply – especially in Plymouth County.
• The regional recession will not be as severe as the previous one in 2001-2003, when the state lost 200,000 jobs. That’s because high-tech, telecommunications and health-care industries here are holding up, comparing to their dismal performance eight years ago. This statewide activity so far has been a strong counter to the weakening real estate market.
• Companies that seek business-to-business relationships will weather the storm best. There is relatively substantial growth noted in education, health services, information technology and professional services, such as accounting, the law and financial advice.
On balance, Plymouth County – and the Cape to a lesser extent – are “OK,” he told a Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon audience last week. There’s even a sliver lining in that declining home prices are making it easier for those entering the market for the first time, especially young families, to afford homes.
At the same time, Goodman, who also is the Donahue Institute's Director of Economic and Public Policy Research, offered many cautions:
• One reason the recession won’t be as bad here is because the state economy never fully recovered from the last downturn. We are still down about 75,000 in jobs from the peak of the preceding recession.
• Recovery from the current downturn probably will not fully occur until 2010 or beyond, and the housing trough has a “ways to go.”
SBA honors Cape Cod Young Professionals
The Cape Cod Young Professionals is the first recipient of the Cape Cod Make a Difference Award from the Massachusetts Small Business Administration.
The award will be officially presented to the Young Professionals on Thursday, May 22, as part of this year’s Celebrate Success Luncheon in Hyannis, sponsored by the SBA and Cape Business Publishing Group.
Winners from across the state will be honored, recognizing accomplishments as entrepreneurs, startups, exporters, journalists and business support organizations, among others. Platinum sponsors of this event include Eastern Bank, Comcast and Sovereign Bank.
“This is the first time that the SBA has held its awards event on Cape Cod, and we wanted to celebrate this fact by recognizing a group as large and diverse as the Young Professionals. This generation represents hundreds of businesses and professions that paint an exciting and evolving picture of the Cape economy,” said SBA spokesperson Joan Trudell. “Their voices and contributions will play a profound role in the region’s future.”
The Young Professionals began in November 2005 with only two members. Today, it counts more than 400 businessmen and -women among its ranks. The organization, led by Michael Robinson of Rogers & Gray Insurance Agency, and Gary Sheehan of Cape Medical Supply, supports professionals under 40 years of age through social, educational, networking and business programs.
The May 22 luncheon program will feature a panel of distinguished economists from the SBA, Boston Federal Reserve, Eastern Bank and Sovereign Bank forecasting the second half of 2008.
To register for this event, click here.
Tables can be reserved by chambers of commerce and business associations across Cape Cod, Plymouth County and the South Shore through April 10. To reserve tables, please contact Christine Parent at (508) 385-3811 or christine@capebusiness.net.
Get connected
We are launching BusinessConnector.biz very shortly. It is a “Facebook” for businesses across Cape Cod, the Islands, Plymouth County and the South Shore. It’s for companies wanting to generate more leads and have permission to call on other firms without that “cold call” self-consciousness. Every member of BusinessConnector.biz wants to do business with each other.
The Businessconnector.biz site is far more than an online directory. It lets you:
• Promote your business 24/7
• Generate leads
• Connect directly with other members
• Describe in detail your business, products and services
• Add your company logo
• Link to your Web site
• Set up maps and directions to your business
• Develop a custom lead list of member businesses
• Post special incentives and offers
• Publish unlimited press releases and articles
• Post photos, including product shots
• Build your own blog
• Publicize job openings
• Post events and sales programs
• Organize your own business planner
• Produce your own promotional video
• Use RSS feeds
The more you use the site, the more successful you will be. We will promote your press releases, events, sales and incentives on the BusinessConnector.biz home page and share your information in our weekly e-newsletter to every member business.
Sign up at businessconnector.biz for our updates and half-price annual memberships, which will be made available to companies who register during the first month.
Mark your calendar for Oct. 15-16
That’s the date for Business Connect 2008 at the Resort and Conference Center in Hyannis. The business-to-business conference will feature more than 100 exhibiting companies and 1,200 attendees, beginning with a preview VIP party on Wednesday evening.
Thursday’s all-day event will feature a series of seminars on how to market to key demographics: baby boomers, second-home owners and women. In addition, sessions will focus on green marketing and Web 2.0 digital commerce, sponsored by BusinessConnector.biz.
In addition, there are six opportunities for individual companies to offer up custom seminars, such as the Succession Planning workshop to be offered by Shepherd & Goldstein.
You can apply for a booth at Business Connect 2008 by contacting Suzie Roettig at (617) 680-1735 or businessconnect2008@capebusiness.net. Booth packages also include an invitation to the VIP event and a one-sixth page description of your company in the conference program, which will be inserted in Cape Business magazine.
To register for this event, click here. If you are a member of an area chambers of commerce, enter code CHA to receive a $10 discount.
OpenCape
Many big cities are abandoning large-scale wireless projects. That is not the case on Cape Cod, where a growing consortium of business and governmental leaders are pushing hard on Beacon Hill for the OpenCape initiative.
OpenCape would build a network to serve both public and commercial needs. The nonprofit Open Cape Corporation Board of Directors has completed preliminary work in corporate formation, engineering, and business planning; and it has obtained seed funding to move the concept forward.
Inevitably, it will need $5 million to construct the network. The OpenCape chairman and several Cape legislators appeared on Beacon Hill before the Joint Committee on Bonding and State Assets on February 14 to request the panel to open up a proposal bill for amendments. That bill addresses broadband needs in Western Massachusetts and the amendment would expand a proposed bond from $25 million to $30 million to accommodate the Cape as well.
The OpenCape Committee is now working to schedule meetings with Gov. Deval Patrick, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Daniel O’Connell, Sen. Therese Murray, Sen. Mark Montigny, and Rep. David Flynn to express support for this initiative.
Among members of the committee are: Art Gaylord, IT director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute; Tom Keyes, president of the Selectmen and Councilor’s Association; Trish Kennedy, CEO of Back Office Associates; Teresa Martin, president of the Cape Cod Technology Council; Steve Catania, VP of Catania Hospitality Group; Robert Curtis, executive director of the Research and Technology Development Corporation; Dick Neitz, chairman of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce; Sharon Brown, director of Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston; and Paul Niedzwiecki, executive director of the Cape Cod Commission.
To learn more about OpenCape and the economic benefits to a Cape-wide broadband network, visit www.opencape.com.
Barnstable on the move
Here are 10 initiatives to watch in 2008:
1. Downtown growth incentive zone
2. Performing arts center
3. Revitalizing the 500 block of main street
4. $30 million youth and community center
5. Hotels upgrading to modern visitor standards
6. Hospital expansion with high-paying medical jobs
7. Airport modernization
8. Pearl Street artist colony
9. Zion United Heritage Museum
10. Yarmouth-Barnstable cooperation
Crucial but less noticeable are initiatives already moving forward on two fronts: expansion of the Water Pollution Control Facility on Bearses Way in Hyannis and scores of reasonably priced homes and apartments already being built to house working families who cannot afford Cape Cod’s median $350,000 houses.
These are some of the focal points for our special report on Barnstable on the Move in the May-June issue of Cape Business.
For companies that want to highlight their business, we are featuring a limited number of horizontal one-third ads that include a narrative, photo and logo, as well as contact information. To learn more, contact Bob Viamari at (508) 385-3811 or bob@capebusiness.net before April 5.
Changing face of law
Our current issue of Cape Business features 20 legal trends that you need to understand as a business. The special report also includes a Q&A with Barnstable County Bar Association President Anastasia Welsh Perrino, as well as a legal resource directory. We spent focused time with attorneys across the Cape to learn how we can help them educate businesses and market themselves in a distinguished and informative way.
We plan to make the Legal Resources Directory a part of all subsequent issues of Cape Business. We also will feature a special Legal Resources online directory at BusinessConnector.biz. To learn more, please call us at (508) 385-3811 or e-mail bob@capebusiness.net.
Beacon Hill and Washington updates
The governor’s task force on the underground economy will focus on employers who do not pay unemployment taxes, workers’ compensation, payroll taxes and income taxes for unclaimed or misclassified employees. The task force (made up of representatives from 11 state agencies) will target certain industries (such as landscaping, construction and domestic services), share investigative information, encourage employers and employees to share information about violators, and review existing laws and regulations. They expressed the hope of collecting $120 million.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued regulations that increase fines by 25 percent effective March 27 on employers who fail to comply with guidelines or knowingly hire undocumented workers. The severity of the consequence for non-compliance is significant as the fines are levied per employee. Employers must accurately complete all eligibility documents including the From I-9 and may not create forged or fraudulent documents. In addition, employers may not engage in “unfair employment practices” with regard to immigration, such as discrimination on the basis of race or nationality.
Artful Pairing of Wine & Food
Top chefs compete for wine & food awards at Cape Cod Museum of Art’s wine and food tasting fundraiser Sunday, April 27, 2008 4:30 – 7 p.m.
CCMA’s Fifth Annual Artful Pairing of Wine & Food event will be an evening to savor delicious tastes from the top chefs of many of the Cape’s best restaurants along with complementary fine wines chosen by Orleans Wine & Spirits.
The chefs or owners of these restaurants will be on hand to present their evening’s special choices for guests who will vote for their Favorite Bite, Favorite Wine, and Most Artful Presentation to win the first CCMA Artful Wine & Food Awards.
Participating establishments are:
Blue Moon Bistro, Chef/Owner Peter Hyde
Center Stage Café, Chef Mark Bartle
Chatham Bars Inn, Executive Chef Anthony Cole
Circadia Bistro, Owner Kristine Hart & Chef Franck Champely
The Dennis Inn/Treats Catering, Owners Cathy Cugini & Brad Boyd
East Dennis Oyster Farm, Owners John & Stephanie Lowell
Heather, Chef/Owner Heather Allen, Partner Matt Conley
L’Alouette, Owners Alan & Gretchen Champney
Ocean House, Chef Anthony Silvestri
Red Pheasant, Chef/Owner Bill Atwood
The Regatta of Cotuit, Chef/Owner Weldon Fizell
Sepia Chocolate, Owners Robin Pulsifer & C. J. Allen
Stage Stop Candy, Owners Ray and Donna Hebert
twenty-eight Atlantic/Wequassett Resort, Executive Chef Bill Brodsky and Executive Sous Chef Mark Mathurin
Wianno Grille, Chef Michael Pirini
Additional support for the event is provided by Ring Brothers Marketplace and The Shucking Brothers. Tickets are limited: $50 for CCMA members; $60 for non-members. Group tickets: members - $275 for 6 ; $450 for 10; non-Members - $335 for 6; $550 for 10
Reservations can be made by phone at 508/385-4477 x 7 or online at www.ccmoa.org - Special Events.
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