One of the favorite parts of my job is the opportunity to talk with and learn from many successful business people. I always like to ask them about how they started their business or entered their industry. Those conversations often range widely and invariably wind up with them asking me questions. The one I get nearly every time is, “What are other people saying about their businesses?”

It’s universal. Business people want to know what other business people are thinking.

Almost 20 years ago, Corey Chambas, now President & CEO of our parent company, had an idea. He has a lot of ideas, and he’s prone to say, “at least half of them are good ones.” Part of my job is to figure out which half. This one was a very good one.

The idea was to survey local business people anonymously about what they’re seeing in their local economy and how that’s affecting their businesses. The data from the survey would then help all the business owners forecast and plan for the upcoming year. The survey would include questions like:

  • How was your financial performance this year?
  • Do you plan to expand your business next year?
  • What challenges do you anticipate next year?

The First Business Bank economic survey "Business Statistics & Trends Report" was born. Each fall, we ask business owners throughout our markets about their year and what they expect next year. It is an ongoing effort to provide business people answers to the questions they always want to ask.

This is work of First Business Bank that goes far beyond just our clients. It’s important that all businesses benefit from the survey results, so we try to survey as many business people as possible, and we always share the results with everyone. After completing the survey, there’s an option to request the survey results via email when they’re available, and we hold various local economic panels based on the survey data and local trends each year.

The outreach to businesses and asking them to provide their feedback through the survey is a huge undertaking. The results are compiled by Dr. Moses Altsech of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Marketing Department who has been our partner for many years. Moses provides his professional perspective on the results, including trends and environmental factors possibly influencing results from year to year.

We encourage business leaders to participate in the survey and to check out the results starting early December. It is information that can be foundational as you formulate your budget, develop a broader business plan, and execute expansion efforts.