Business Retention and Expansion Final Report - City of Brantford

45Participants were asked how many years the business has been in operation:Thirty-five percent (35%) of interviewed businesses are family-owned and there would appear to be an opportunity toassist over 25% of the businesses with succession, business and marketing plans.Eighteen percent (18%) of BIA businesses that responded are unionized.Businesses were asked to specify how many of their employees are:Employee StatusNumber of EmployeesPermanent full time 1,391Permanent part time 367Seasonal/temporary 93Spring 2Summer 5Fall 100Winter 144Contract employees 133Total employees 2,235They were then asked what percentage of their employees at this location live:71% Within the municipality11% Outside the municipality but within county/district/regional municipality3% Outside county/district/regional municipalityBusiness DevelopmentThe Business Development portion of the survey considered the factors and strategies that impact growth of business.These ranged from site considerations to energy sources, technology implemented, and factors which made a businesscompetitive in its market.Fifty-seven percent (57%) of those surveyed said their location was the only one while the other 43% said they werepart of multiple locations. These locations included 20 within the municipality, 9 outside of the municipality, 20 elsewherein Ontario, four in another province and three outside of Canada. For 38% of respondents their location is theheadquarters for their business.