SBAC Survey of Brook Haven Businesses Results Booklet

8/7/2019 SBAC Survey of Brook Haven Businesses Results Booklet

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Brookhaven Small Business Advisory CouncilAnnual Survey of Brookhaven Businesses



Editors

Joseph Campolo

SBAC Survey Committee Chair

Bruce NewmanSBAC President

Ken Cerini, CPA, CFP, DABFA

Managing Partner

Cerini & Associates, LLP

Lisa MG MulliganBrookhaven Director of

Economic Development &

CEO of the IndustrialDevelopment Agency

Associate Editor

Data Collection

Writer

Theresa Weston

Marketing Coordinator

Cerini & Associates, LLP

Pandora Marketing Consultants

Page Layout & Design

Carrie-Anne GonzalezCerini & Associates, LLP

Commercial Designer

Pandora Marketing Consultants

Contributors

Tableof

Contents

DEMOGRAPHICS 4

OPERATIONS 9

STRATEGIC PLANNING 15



A Wordfromsbac

Dear Brookhaven Business Owner,

It is with great pleasure that we introduce the fi rst Brookhaven Small Business Advisory

Council (SBAC) Annual Survey of Brookhaven Businesses.

The objective of this survey is to better understand and gauge the economic status of

businesses in the Town of Brookhaven. We initiated the survey as part of Town Supervisor

Mark Lesko’s broader initiative to improve the climate for businesses in Brookhaven.

Survey results were collected from 129 Brookhaven business owners during the months

of October, November and December 2010. Results were aggregated and analyzed by

the accounting fi rm of Cerini & Associates LLP.

While survey results show many businesses are still concerned with the economy and

rising taxes, there were some bright spots that bode well for Brookhaven – including 42%of respondents who anticipate an increase in hiring during 2011 and 81% of respondents

who plan to keep their business in Brookhaven. Survey results also show a generally

positive outlook by Brookhaven business owners for 2011, with the vast majority of

respondents (84%) reporting that they fi nd Brookhaven a positive location for their

business. We sincerely hope this survey will be a reference publication in future efforts

to enhance the environment for businesses in the Town of Brookhaven.

We extend our sincere thanks to Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko for supporting this

publication and for his focused determination in making Brookhaven the place to do

business. We would also like to thank Lisa Mulligan, Director of Brookhaven Economic

Development, and her staff for assisting in the production of this survey.

Finally, a special thanks is due to the staff at Cerini & Associates, working in conjunction

with Pandora Marketing Consultants, for designing and producing this year’s survey.

Please feel free to email us at [email protected] or call 631-451-6563 if you have

questions or comments.

The 2011 Brookha

Small Busin

Advisory Cou

Annual Surve

Brookhaven Busine

is brought to you

Bruce Newman

SBAC President

Joseph N. Campolo, Esq.

SBAC Survey Committee Chair



DEMOGRAPHICS



Brookhaven Survey 2011 5

Type of Busine

We obtained responses from a cross section of busines

throughout Brookhaven. The largest number of responses (63

came from service providers, which included accounta

attorneys, advisors, etc. This was followed by retail (13

and other (9%). “Other” principally represented healthcinstitutions and media publications. Nonprofi t organizatio

appear to be understated at 3%.

Number of Employees

As expected, the level of staff employed by Brookhaven

businesses is fairly consistent with the relatively small size of

Town businesses. Ultimately, the largest segment of businessesemployed between 1 and 10 employees (53% of respondents)

with the second largest segment (13%) having no employees.

Zero employee businesses were generally represented by not-

for-profi t organizations with unpaid volunteers. Conversely

12% of respondents had over 100 employees.

Revenue Size of Business

The majority of Brookhaven businesses are relatively small

in overall revenue. Survey results showed that 38% of all

respondents generated under $100,000 in gross revenue.

The next largest segments were organizations generating

$2,500,000 or more (24%) in revenue and those generating

$100,001 to $500,000 (23%).



6 Brookhaven Survey 2011

Revenue for 2010 as Compared to 2009

Fourty-nine percent of businesses responded that they

anticipated an increase in revenue for 2010 as com-

pared to 2009. The remaining businesses were divided

between those that anticipated no change in revenue

(28%) and those that anticipated a decrease (23%).

Size of Projected Revenue Increase for 2010 as Compared to 2009

Of the respondents projecting an increase in revenue, 40% expected an increase of up to 5%, with another 24% projecting increases of

between 5% and 10%. The remaining 36% of businesses expected an increase of between 9% and 17%. The mean average increase wa

between 5% and 10%.




Size of Projected Revenue Decrease for 2010 as Compared to 200

The majority of respondents that anticipated a decline in revenue for 2010 expected decreases of between 10% and 15% (35% of respondent

followed by 5% to 10% (29% of respondents), and 20% to 25% (18% of respondents). The mean average decrease was between 10% and 15

Location of Customers

As Long Island is comprised of a

signifi cant number of smaller businesses,

it seems reasonable that approximately

30% of these organizations conduct

business Island-wide. Another 15% of

respondents reported that they conduct

business solely in Suffolk County,

and 10% said they conduct business

in Brookhaven only. Brookhaven

businesses, however, have branched out

with 19% providing services nationally

and another 16% having an international

client base.




Does the Owner or President Reside in Brookhaven

With many Brookhaven businesses employing a small

number of employees, it is not surprising that 74% of

business owners also choose to reside in the Town.



OPERATIONS




Growth In Customer Base

For 2010, 44% of respondents increased their customer base, with a reduction in

customers cited by only 22% of respondents. Thirty-four percent of respondents

worked with the same number of customers. This is fairly consistent with projected

increase in revenue for the year.

Increase in Number of Customer

Of those that saw an increase in customers, 43% of respondents reported an increase of up to 5%.




Decrease in Number of Custome

For those businesses that repor ted a decline in customers, the largest segment (34% of respondents) cited a decrease of 5% to 10%, followed

businesses repor ting a 20% to 25% decrease (19% of respondents), and business reporting a decrease over 25% (15% of respondents). Th

results show a deeper decline than the positive changes in customer growth reported by respondents.

Anticipated Pay Raises

The majority of businesses in Brookhaven anticipate

not giving their staff a raise in 2011 (54% of

respondents). For those businesses providing raises,

the most anticipated raise for 2011 will be between 1%

and 2% (18% of respondents), followed by projected

raises of between 3% and 4% (15% of respondents).

Three percent of respondents projecting a decrease in

salary and none of the respondents anticipated giving

a raise of over 10%.




Overall Plan to Hire

For many businesses, the downturn in the economy has not only impacted their

ability to give employees a raise, but also reduced the likelihood of additional

hiring. Fifty-eight percent of respondents do not anticipate hiring new staff in

2011.

Hiring Levels

Of those organizations that do anticipate hir

48% of respondents plan to increase their s

by up to 5%, with respondents indicatin

shortage of qualifi ed, reliable help.

Projected Layoffs

Although many fi rms do not anticipate raises or hiring over thenext 6-12 months, 92% of respondents do not project staff layoffs.




Levels of Anticipation of Layof

Of the 8% that responded that they do anticipate layoffs, results represented both sides of the spectrum. An even number of responden

(37%) anticipates layoffs of up to 5% while an equal number of companies expected staff reductions of over 25%.

Do You Plan to Keep Your Business in the Town of Brookhaven?

Even with the tough economy, Brookhaven businesses pl

on staying put, with 81% of respondents planning to stay

Brookhaven.




Use of Web-Based Marketing

Use of Web-Based Marketin

Businesses continue to place increas

emphasis on marketing through the intern

including use of their website, outside vendo

and social media. Most of Brookhav

businesses responding to the survey (90of respondents) are utilizing some form

electronic marketing. Other than their ow

websites, Facebook is the most common

used communication medium, with 37%

respondents currently using the social netwo

website to promote their organization.

With a majority of survey respondentsproviding their products and services to the

Long Island community, it’s not surprising that

most business is still conducted face-to-face,

with 58% of responding organizations only

conducting 0% to 10% of their business online.

Business Conducted on the Intern



STRATEGIC PLANNING




Doing Business in Brookhav

Is Brookhaven a Positive Location for Business

The vast majority of respondents believe that Brookhaven is a positive locat

for business. Only 16% of respondents cited varying diffi culties in aquir

permits, rising taxes, the unemployment rate, and the number of businesceasing operations.

Negative Positive

Respondents were asked on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being negative and 10 being positive, what their satisfaction rating was regarding do

business in the Town of Brookhaven. The majority of businesses felt that Brookhaven was a neutral to very positive environment for do

business. Only 3% felt very dissatisfi ed about business in Brookhaven. The overall satisfaction rating for respondents doing busines

Brookhaven was 5.41.




Confi dence Rating Regarding the Long Island Econom

A majority of the Brookhaven business

respondents felt neutral in their confi dence

of the Long Island economy, with 22%

ranking the economy at fi ve. Only 1% of respondents felt confi dent in the economy

being a positive environment, while 6%

marked their confi dence rating at 1. The

average confi dence rating of the respondents

was 5.17.

Negative Positive

Confi dence Rating Regarding the National Economy

Brookhaven business respondents did not give th

same vote of confi dence for the national econom

as they did for Long Island and Brookhaven. Wit

3% of respondents ranking the national econom

at one, 0% of respondents felt completely positiv

about the national economy. The majority o

respondents responded with a confi dence ratin

of fi ve (19%), followed by a rating of four (18%

respondents). The average confi dence rating f

the national economy was 4.78.

Negative Positive




View of Leading Marketing Indicators

Fifty-one percent of businesses anticipate that the leading market indic

will increase in 2011, while 38% were unsure.

Real Estate Prices on Long Isla

The largest level of Brookhaven businesses were unsure

whether or not real estate prices would increase or decrease

on Long Island. While 37% of respondents felt the future

of real estate was unknown, 34% felt there would be an

increase in real estate prices over the next year.

Expansion Plans

Based on continuing uncertainty about the national and local econom

54% of respondents do not plan on expanding their business over

next year, however 46% of the respondents were more positive a

indicated they do plan on expanding their business in 2011 to bet

meet the needs of their customers.




The Brookhaven Small Business Advisory Council Annual

Survey of Brookhaven Businesses is made possible through the

collaborative efforts of the Town of Brookhaven and business

leaders noted below.

TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN

Supervisor

Mark Lesko

Council MembersSteve Fiore-Rosenfeld – District 1Jane Bonner – District 2

Kathleen Walsh – District 3

Constance Kepert – District 4Timothy P. Mazzei – Distr ict 5

Daniel Panico – District 6

Town ClerkPatricia Eddington

Highway SuperintendentJohn Rouse

Receiver of TaxesLouis Marcoccia

TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN SMALL BUSINESSADVISORY COUNCIL

PresidentBruce Newman

Principal, Pipeline LLC

Vice PresidentJohn Barrie

Assistant Vice President Marketing, Suffolk Federal Credit Union

Secretary

Kevin McCormackIndependent Consultant

TreasurerWilbur Klatsky

NYS Banking Commission

Town LiaisonLisa MG Mulligan

Director of Economic Development &CEO of the Industr ial Development Agency

SBAC Survey Committee ChairJoseph N. Campolo, Esq.

Managing Partner, Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP

SBAC Council MembersAnthony AttinaAnthony Attina, CPA, PC

Brian CohenFinancial Advisor, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated

Dina Isola

President, Real$martica, Inc.

Eliatt Di Lieto

Partner, Cerini & Associates, LLP

Elizabeth MalafiCoordinator, Miller Business Resource Center at The Middle Country Public Lib

Fran EricssonBusiness Banking Relationship Manager, Citibank, N.A.

Gloria H. GlowackiAssociate Director, Small Business Development Center - Stony Brook

Henry Bramwell

President, Visionary Graphics

Jill Clough-Johnston

Small Business Liaison Offi cer, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Jim Guma

Partner, D. James Marketing Corp.

Joann DobrowolskiPrincipal, YPI Consultants, LLC

John MallanoLender Relations Specialist

U.S. Small Business Administration

Michael DicksonMichael T. Dickson, CPA, PC

Michelle Cooper

Contract Specialist, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Nicole Christian

Nicole J. Christian Consulting, Greater Gordon Heights Chamber of Commerce

Reeni Brill

Publisher, Passport Publications of Long Island

Robert Larson

Vice President Small Business Lending, Community Development Corporation o

Long Island

Ronni Rosen

Senior Business Advisor & Workshop Coordinator, Small Business Development

Center - Stony Brook

Salvatore Incardona

Vice President, J.P. Morgan Chase

Susan Petrosino-Reid

Director of Small Business Consulting Services, Community Development

Corporation of Long Island

Thomas Peterson

President, Splash Social Marketing

PRODUCTION ASSISTANCEJocelyn BrinkaKathleen Estabrook

Yolanda Ruiz

Town of Brookhaven Economic Development

For questions regarding this survey, please email the Brookhaven Small

Business Advisory Council at [email protected] or call 631-451-65



Survey and Results Booklet Designed and Produced by Cerini & Associates, LLP

in conjunction with Pandora Marketing Consultants.

The Brookhaven Small Business Advisory Council 2011 Annual Survey of Brookhaven Businesses

is brought to you by:

SBAC Survey of Brook Haven Businesses Results Booklet

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