The 2018 business satisfaction survey results are in. 

According to the 2018 business satisfaction survey, 86% of local businesses surveyed believe that Airdrie is a good place to conduct business. 631 businesses participated in the survey, of those 631 businesses, 40% were commercial and 60% were home-based.

The last three years there has been lots of economic uncertainty in Alberta in almost every sector and according to the survey, many local business owners have felt the impact. 

Survey respondents rated the top issues facing Airdrie's economy.  55% of respondents believe that managing the growth of Airdrie's communities is the top concern. The issue of Infrastructure and customer leakage outside of Airdrie was the second biggest issue facing Airdrie's economy. 

Those who responded to the survey were also asked what they believed the top issues were facing Airdrie Businesses. 36% believe the cost of office space whether it be commercial or industrial space was the top issue followed by the cost of advertising and taxes. Only 19% of businesses thought the availability of labour was an issue.  

A good sign of what the future job market of Airdrie will look like is that 57% percent of those surveyed believed they are expecting to grown or expand in the following years. Only six percent are expecting to slow down. 

In the commercial business sector specifically, 81% of businesses surveyed were expecting to maintain or even hire more staff over the next year. 

Buying locally has always been encouraging no matter what community you dwell in, yet 70% of commercial businesses only buy 0-25% of their supplies locally and according to the survey, a big part of that is the lack of supplies or materials available for purchase within Airdrie. 

In the home business sector, 42% of respondents said that their home business was their primary source of income, with 47% of home businesses thinking about moving into a storefront location. 

The survey was answered through an online forum and by phone. 

 

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