Business Trends newsletter April 30, 2008
Fewer than one in 10 businesses sell for a price even near expectations
Learn why: Join us on June 2
Most private business owners haven’t given transition planning much formal thought. Surveys show that the majority of owners have done little or no planning.
The need for proper planning really shouts out when you look at the fallout: less than 10 percent of business owners obtain a price near what they desire and only 3 of out of 10 businesses successfully transition to the second generation.
To learn more about succession planning, join us from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, June 2, at the Blue Moon Bistro in Dennis Village for a complimentary workshop sponsored by ROCG’s Boston office of Shepherd & Goldstein Consulting Group, Delta Capital Group, The Community Bank and Cape Business Publishing Group.
Learn how you can:
• Keep control over the process
• Maximize business value
• Minimize taxes
• Better understand internal & external transfer methods
This workshop is designed not only for business owners, but for attorneys, CPAs and financial advisers who represent businesses.
Combine invaluable education with tastes of Chef Peter Hyde’s Blue Moon cuisine, along with a complimentary glass of wine.
Seating for this free event is limited, so RSVP soon: Contact Christine Parent at christine@capebusiness.net or (508) 385-3811. Please mention “succession workshop” in your RSVP.
$350 million in new economic activity; 2,000 new jobs
Is it a race against time?
An early June Town Meeting vote in Plymouth could well determine whether investors move ahead with plans to build the largest movie studio and campus east of Hollywood on 300 acres of town land near Bourne – or abandon the project for another location out of state.
The stakes are huge, and the days leading up to Town Meeting will see all the key players trying to accommodate a slew of questions related to the economy, the environment and the region’s quality of life.
“A negative vote [less than 2/3] will be a message to Plymouth Rock Studios that their project is not welcome in the community and they will look at other options outside of Plymouth,” said Kevin O’Reilly, president of Creative Strategies & Communications Inc., a Plymouth company that is consulting to the investment group.
“The company has already invested $2.5 million and expects to spend another $2 million on studies before the Town Meeting vote,” he said. “It would be unrealistic for them to spend additional money on permitting if Plymouth Town Meeting members say ‘no’ to the special permit process and the land transfer negotiations on June 9.”
Meanwhile, Plymouth Rock Studios has created an unprecedented groundswell of support from the business community. The Plymouth Area and South Shore chambers of commerce have formally endorsed the plan, and many other business groups as far as Cape Cod have informally backed it.
And for good reason: It promises at least $350 million in projected spending and 2,000 jobs for a new, highly technological industry in a region that has been steadily losing business and high-earning jobs.
Also strongly behind the project is state Sen. President Therese Murray, who represents Plymouth on Beacon Hill. Not only will she be instrumental in shepherding the project through state channels, but the project calls for a new interchange off Route 25 that would relieve traffic on Bourne Road – which will need federal funds and approval.
A vote of confidence in Dennis: Cape Cod Five opens new branch
Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank has opened its 17th branch in Dennis, on Route 134 across from Patriot Square. Despite the apparent recession and housing slowdown, Cape Cod Five CEO Dorothy Savarese said: “We never considered any delay in our expansion into Dennis. One thing is for sure, the economy will rebound. The tricky part is pinpointing when. We we believe in the inherent strengths in our region, evidenced by its unique natural, cultural and human resources, to return us to better times.”
Discussing her bank’s latest expansion, Savarese said: Dennis is “a logical fit for us since we already have an established customer base in Dennis. Many of our Dennis customers are currently serviced by our two branches in Harwich or our Yarmouth location. We recognized Dennis as a gap in our contiguous coverage of the Cape, and began making plans to fill it a few years ago as part of a larger plan to add a number of new locations.”
Consider Dennis’ demos
With Cape Cod Five’s move to Dennis, we took a closer look at the town’s demographics. Here are some highlights:
Household income
Total households 12,807
Households with incomes of $75,000-$100,000 - 1,496
Households with incomes of $100,000 - $125,000 – 1,127
Households with incomes of $125,000 -$150,000 – 690
Households with incomes of $150,000 and over – 1,592
Length of residence
Within last 18 months – 110
In the 4th year - 303
In the 8th year - 517
In the 12th year – 365
In the 16th year – 278
20 or more years – 3,806
Homes facing water (bay or sound)
5,224, or 41 percent of all households
Full-time homeowners
Total number of homeowners 6,332
$500,000 to $600,000 – 552
$600,000 to $700,000 – 331
$700,000 to $800,000 – 202
$800,000 to $1 million – 229
$1 million to $1.5 million – 155
$1.5 million to $2 million – 39
$2 million or more – 41
Second-home owners
Total number of homeowners 6,419
$500,000 to $600,000 – 362
$600,000 to $700,000 – 249
$700,000 to $800,000 – 183
$800,000 to $1 million – 227
$1 million to $1.5 million – 185
$1.5 million to $2 million – 57
$2 million or more – 74
Celebrating Dennis: A special publication this summer
We don’t only study the numbers, we act on them. This July, our Health & Wealth magazine, sent to the Cape’s 20,000 highest-valued homes, features a special 32-page insert: Celebrating Arts & Entertainment on Route 6A, with a special focus on Dennis Village, home to the Cape Cod Center for the Arts – which includes the Cape Playhouse, Cape Cinema and Cape Cod Museum of Art. In addition, 10,000 additional copies of the publication will be distributed throughout the village all summer long.
Businesses interested in reaching these readers, which include second-home owners and visitors, can learn more by contacting Bob Viamari at bob@capebusiness.net or (508) 385-3811.
In addition, we have a program to reach 86,000 individual readers by also featuring your business in the Cape Playhouse Playbill. There’s even a way for your company to sponsor events at the Playhouse and treat a significant part of your marketing support as a tax-deductible contribution to the Center’s foundation. To learn more, click here.
Making a difference on Cape Cod
The Cape Cod Young Professionals now count more than 600 members, an amazing growth rate in less than three years. We celebrate their “Making a Difference” award as part of the May 22 Celebrate Success Luncheon at the Cape Codder Resort and Spa, sponsored by Cape Business Publishing Group, the Massachusetts Small Business Administration, Eastern Bank, Sovereign Bank and Comcast.
We thank Comcast for engaging our master of ceremonies, Mike Nikitas, who anchored NECN's first newscast on March 2, 1992, and continues to anchor weekday mornings and midday. Nikitas also co-costs NECN's "This Week in Business" on Sundays with Paul Guzzi, President of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to our awards ceremony featuring the Cape Cod Young Professionals and 10 other companies and organizations statewide, the lunch features a distinguished panel of regional economists who will forecast the second half of 2008.
To reserve a table for your company or organization, please call Christine Parent at (508) 385-03811. For individual tickets, click here to register.
What are the priorities of young professionals?
The Cape Cod Young Professionals recently surveyed its membership. Here are their top six priorities in order of importance:
1. Availability of job or economic opportunities
2. Availability of moderate and lower priced housing
3. Environmental protection
4. Social networking
5. Engagement in local political issues
6. Access to childcare
Think green
Mid-Cape Home Centers is the first Certified Green Dealer among lumber and building supply dealerships in Southeastern Massachusetts. The national program is the first of its kind in North America to provide lumber and material dealer personnel with educational information about green building basics. To learn more about this program, contact Lynn Mason-Small at lsmall@midcape.net.
Cape Business and Plymouth County Business will be featuring local companies engaged in green activities and proving that being environmentally conscious also is good for the bottom line. To be featured in our upcoming green economy outlook, e-mail glenn@capebusiness.net.
Business Connect 2008, October 15-16, in Hyannis, will feature a exhibitors’ section for green companies. If you wish to be a vendor at our business-to-business conference, which will attract more than 1,000 attendees, please contact Suzie Roettig at (617) 680-1735 or businessconnect2008@capebusiness.net.
Can New Bedford and Fall River make up for H2B shortage?
Tensions are mounting among seasonal employers who see little, if any hope, that Congress will act to increase the numbers of H2B visas for the upcoming season. Even if lawmakers acted, it might be too late. This will mean many businesses may open later and close sooner.
The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, for one, is reaching out to places like Fall River and New Bedford to recruit employees. Given those cities’ high unemployment rates, the prospect of tapping this labor pool has some serious merit, say employers.
Brenda Francis, director of the Greater New Bedford Career Center, recently told the Boston Globe that job seekers there are intrigued by appeals from Cape employers.
Meanwhile, Harwich-based Cape Destinations hopes that its recently launched CAPEX bus service to T.F. Green Airport in Providence could also transport employees on and off Cape every day.
In addition, the Cape & Islands Workforce Investment Board is promoting the concept of 55-plus workers.
Local employment picture appears brighter than nation’s
The March unemployment rate across Massachusetts actually dropped, a sharp contrast to rising numbers nationwide. Preliminary estimates show that over-the-month job gains occurred in 10 of the commonwealth’s metropolitan areas, with the Barnstable region recording the strongest percentage gains along with Brockton/Bridgewater/Easton.
However, the Barnstable area did experience a 0.5 percent decline in jobs between March 2007 and March 2008.
The employment picture is yet another reassuring signal that while the economy is slowing south of Boston, this region is relatively more healthy than the Northeast and nation as a whole, as fears of recession mount. Even the housing picture, while not good, is far less gloomy than elsewhere nationally.
The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 4.4 percent in March was unchanged from February 2008 and also down two tenths of a percentage point from the 4.6 percent rate recorded in March 2007. The statewide seasonally adjusted rate in Massachusetts continues to be lower than the US for the tenth consecutive month.
Here are some local numbers:
Barnstable metro area: 90,500 in February; 91,400 in March and 91,900 in March 2007. These numbers do not cover the entire Cape, but most of Hyannis and its outlying towns.
Brockton metro area: 88,400 in February; 99,400 in March and 88,700 in March 2007.
New workers’ comp rates
The state announced this month that 2008 workers’ compensation rates will average about 1 percent less, saving Massachusetts businesses $11 million. “This most recent rate cut balances the need to help businesses control costs with the responsibility to provide employees with appropriate benefits,” said Gov. Deval Patrick. “Lowering the cost of workers’ compensation insurance is very much in keeping with our larger goal of improving the state’s business climate so that we can grow the economy and create jobs.”
The reduction may not seem large, but consider that the Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau, a private, nonprofit association of insurers, had requested a 2.3 percent hike in 2008 workers’ compensation rates. Had the WCRIB requests been approved, businesses would have seen the cost of providing compensation benefits to their employees increase by $25 million.
The new rates go into effect on September 1, 2008.
Workers' compensation insurance provides coverage for lost wages, permanent injuries resulting in loss of function and medical care for workers injured on the job. Massachusetts businesses are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. The Division of Insurance sets the rates after a rate setting proceeding.
Team Cape Cod/Pan-Mass Challenge
Calling all riders in the Cape Cod area who are registered in this year’s Pan-Mass Challenge:
Ernie Johnson, co-publisher of Cape Business Publishing Group, along with Gary Sheehan of Cape Medical Supply, David Robinson of Rogers & Gray Insurance and Kristin O'Malley of The Cape Cod Foundation, are forming Team Cape Cod. The group will be organizing fundraising events and training rides on Cape Cod. If you are interested in participating, please contact ernie@capebusiness.net.
Comcast boosts Internet speeds for Business Class customers
Comcast has increased speeds for its Business Class Internet service tiers at no additional cost for Comcast Business Class Internet customers across Southeastern Massachusetts. With download speeds up to 16 Mbps and upload speeds up to 2 Mbps, Comcast Business Class gives customers an ultra-fast broadband connection.
“Comcast is dedicated to and focused on offering a better broadband Internet experience so business customers are equipped with technology solutions that save time, increase productivity and offer more value,” said Dan Sullivan, Vice President, Business Services for Southeastern Massachusetts. “We will continue to innovate to keep small- and medium-sized businesses on the cutting edge of new technology.”
Comcast will continue to increase Internet speeds as it evolves from broadband to wideband with the introduction of DOCSIS 3.0 (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications) technology, which will set a new standard for high-speed Internet service across fiber-optic cable networks.
Businesses who are interested in learning more about Comcast Business Class High-Speed Internet or other Comcast business products and services should call 1-888-737-8361 or visit www.comcast.com/business.
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