Santa Rosa, CA (PRWEB) September 18, 2013
Despite a still somewhat sluggish U.S. economy, Sonoma County area businesses are thriving and have made the New York-based INC. Magazine 2013 list of top 5,000 fastest growing private companies. The premier print publication for entrepreneurs and business owners has included; Santa Rosa-based wine telesales provider VinoPro, at No. 238 and online Furniture retailer Humble Abode, also Streetwise Reports of Petaluma and ProTransport-1 out of Cotati. From sister-cities in the North Bay; Three Twins Ice Cream, Mommy’s Bliss and home décor retailer RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware and more. The INC. list ranks unprecedented growth in U.S. businesses with a minimum income of $100,000 in 2009 to minimum of $2 million plus today. A common thread among the success stories is a focus on customer relations and client retention.
Santa Rosa and Sonoma County have been prevalent in the media lately including on; Forbes Magazine’s 2013 list of Best Places for Businesses & Careers and in mentions by prominent senior economist Jerry Nickelsburg, Ph.D., of UCLA’s Anderson School of Management who stated that job growth here is ahead of the Bay Area, state and nation (courtesy of the closely watched UCLA Anderson Forecast). The county’s $1.3 billion tourism industry is definitely a huge contributing factor to growth and the increased new and business relocations in the area have boosted the local economy.
Sonoma County BEST focuses on community economic development and reports that business attractions increased in 2013, garnering new business and relocations from across the Bay Area. For example; $20 million a year producer World Centric has just chosen to move here from Palo Alto. Executive Director at BEST Carolyn Stark says, “Sonoma County has a very collaborative economic environment that supports local business and the development of a world-class workforce. Mix this with our great quality of life and it is easy to see why business is booming.”
The Sonoma County Economic Board also reports that in 2013, Sonoma County business executives are more confident about the growth and direction of the local economy then in at least a dozen years. The county’s business-confidence index reached record high average topping a previous rate of 6.8 before the housing market crash of 2006 that caused the last economic recession. In the highly respected North Bay Business Journal's annual report of Best Places to Work for 2013 75 local businesses are listed. Winners are based on nominations and an anonymous employee survey. Over 6,000 employees completed the required anonymous online satisfaction survey, and thousands of comments were collected in the process, see the full list of best North Bay businesses to work.
About Visit Santa Rosa:
Visit Santa Rosa provides assistance to visitors and groups seeking information about lodging, dining and entertainment opportunities in Santa Rosa. The bureau also operates an Official State of California Welcome Center, and helps to bring business and major events to Santa Rosa. For more information, please call (707) 577-8674 or VisitSantaRosa.com.