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Canton economic development manager summarizes business survey; licensing and workforce flagged as top needs
Summary
Economic development manager Andy Leslie reported results from a five-week survey of local businesses: downtown has about 200 active businesses, 57 respondents, and top challenges cited were staffing, overhead costs and infrastructure; staff proposed steps including a business liaison and updated guides.
Andy Leslie, Canton—s economic development manager, presented results of a five-week business survey at the Feb. 20 council meeting, reporting 57 responses and noting downtown has "just over 200" active businesses.
Leslie said roughly half of downtown businesses are professional services and that respondents reported a generally positive business climate: about 75% rated the current local business climate "excellent" or "good," while 7% described their situation as challenging. The top challenges identified were staffing and workforce, overhead costs and infrastructure; 23% of respondents requested help with marketing and customer attraction.
Leslie outlined next steps intended to address those concerns, including serving as a business liaison to provide a single point of contact for licensing and permitting questions; updating online step-by-step startup guides in English and Spanish; producing a "doing business downtown" guide; and promoting existing partner resources such as the Chamber, the Small Business Development Center and economic development partners. He said the downtown business mix shows an opportunity to grow street-level retail and evening activity.
Council members thanked Leslie for the update and asked follow-up questions about outreach and resources to support translation and faster permitting. Leslie said the city—s online portal has been well received and committed to coordinating with city staff and partners to streamline licensing and expand outreach to Spanish-speaking business owners.
