Online survey to help Southwest Montana area businesses

If you are a Southwest Montana business owner, two economic assistance organizations want to hear from you.

The Butte Local Development Corp. and Headwaters Resource Conservation and Development have joined with public and private sources to fund an online survey and business directory, the first of its kind for the area.

The survey, which can be found at http://www.swmtbiz.org, asks about 100 short-answer and multiple choice questions, everything from contact information and type of industry — to how easy is it to find qualified job candidates and where they purchase materials.

The survey takes about 5 to 10 minutes to complete.

Jim Smitham, BLDC executive director, said specific answers will be kept confidential, but the responses will be compiled into reliable statistics for the area.

"We want to know what businesses are out there," said Smitham. "We want to know what they do, what they need and what they offer." Warren Harden, economic development planner with Headwaters RC&D, said a goal of the survey is to help area companies build relationships and know more about who is selling what. He said it can also help show what niches need to be filled, spotlighting business opportunities for area entrepreneurs. If local businesses support each other, Smitham said the dollars that are leaving the region could circulate locally many times over.

Businesses can also request to be notified by representatives of the organizations, who can suggest such things as ways to increase their capital or bid for government contracts.

The survey was distributed in October to 3,500 businesses in the seven southwest Montana counties.

Those who did not receive a survey — and even individuals — are welcome to fill it out, too.

"We apologize if we missed you and we want to make sure this gets in as many hands as possible," said Smitham.

The responses are beginning to trickle in, and will be collected until the end of the year. The responses will begin to be tallied around Jan. 1, but will continue to be updated See DIGGINGS, Page D3 throughout 2010.

Similar surveys have been completed in the Bozeman area and other regions throughout the country.

"It’s been tried and been successful before," said Smitham. "We think it’s another tool businesses can use." The survey is available to businesses without Internet access by calling the BLDC at 406-723-4349 or Headwaters RC&D at 406-782-7333.

By Tim Trainor

Full Story: http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2009/11/15/business/hjjaiiifhiegjd.txt