IOWA SMALL
BUSINESS SURVEYA TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH
UEDA Awards of Excellence 2014
Sarah Bey, Program Manager
UNI Regional Business Center
WHY THE SMALL BUSINESS SURVEY WAS CREATED
THE PROBLEM
• A NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE ENTREPRENEUR
• IDENTIFYING, SURVEYING & RESPONDING IS BECOMING MORE DIFFICULT
IN THE PAST
• CENSUS BUREAU
• KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION
• SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
ORIGINALITY
Statewide Collaboration
Research Innovative Release
Feedback Loop to
Entrepreneurs
COLLABORATIVELY BUILT
• COMPILE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• ENTREPRENEURIAL ROUNDTABLE
• OTHER RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD
• NEW APPROACHES IN SERVING
• BETTER TRAINING TOOLS
• BETTER UNDERSTANDING
• STRONGER LINKAGES
• TYPES OF QUESTIONS
• DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
• KEY PROBLEMS FACING SMALL BUSINESS
• BUSINESS GROWTH OR DECLINE
• TECHNOLOGY
• USE & EVALUATION OF 20+ RESOURCES AND SERVICES IN THE STATE
SURVEY & OUTCOMES• SURVEYED IOWA SMALL BUSINESSES
• HIGHLIGHTS
• 1 IN 5 NEW JOBS DUE TO TECHNOLOGY
• SUB-CONTRACT JOBS INCREASED
• SLOW GROWTH CONTINUED
• WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESSES ARE SMALLER, YOUNGER, AND DON’T SEEM TO PERSIST PAST THE 10 YEAR MARK
• IASOURCELINK MOST IMPROVED RESOURCE
SurveyRespondentsbyIndustry
Wholesale
Technology
Service
Retail
Manufacturing
A
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Stay theSameDecreaseIncrease
Perc
ent o
fRes
pond
ents
During 2013 did you seeyourrevenues...And in 2014 do youexpect to seerevenues...
2013
2014
INNOVATIVE RELEASE • 144 25 PAGE PUBLICATION
• ENGAGING & EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORK
• EASY TO READ, COLORFUL GRAPHS & DATA
• KEY TAKE-A-WAYS & SUGGESTIONS
• SPECIAL SEGMENT REPORT
• DEDICATED WEBSITE
• ATTRACTIVE TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS
• LEGISLATORS
• ECONOMIC DEVELOPERS
• BUSINESS SERVICE PROVIDERS
• SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
IMPACTNEW PROGRAMS• DREAM BIG GROW HERE
• BUSINESS CONCIERGE
• SPEAK OUT SMALL BUSINESS
• WEBINARS
• MYENTRE.NET
• ENTREFEST
CONTINUED RESEARCH & USE• ACADEMIC PAPERS
• FOCUS GROUPS
• WOMEN’S ROUNDTABLE FORMED
• ASCENT
• TEACHING TOOL
VALUE-ADD RELATIONSHIPS
• NEW FUNDING SOURCES
• STATEWIDE STAKEHOLDERS
• IMPROVED GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
• SMALL BUSINESS OWNER VOICE
• MEDIA & AWARENESS
REPLICABILITY & SCALABILITY
• COLLABORATE WITH STAKEHOLDERS
• UTILIZE UNIVERSITY ASSETS TO SURVEY
• CREATE CONTENT WITH PURPOSE
• THINK BIG OR THINK SMALL
FUTURE POSSIBILITIES...
Statewide Collaboration
Research
Innovative Release Feedback Loop to Entrepreneurs
“
”
ACROSS THE BOARD, BUSINESS OWNERS ARE CALLING FOR LESS REGULATION, MORE CAPITAL, BETTER ACCESS TO THEIR PEERS ONLINE AND IN
PERSON, AND MORE SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITIES. HOW WE RESPOND TO THESE NEEDS GOING FORWARD WILL BE REWARDED BY MORE BUSINESS
STARTS, NEW JOBS AND BUSINESS EXPANSIONS IN IOWA
- MAUREEN COLLINS-WILLIAMS, UNI RESEARCHER IN RESIDENCE
SUSTAINABILITY
IOWA SMALL
BUSINESS SURVEYA TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH
UEDA Awards of Excellence 2014
Sarah Bey, Program Manager
UNI Regional Business Center
