City hall report finds small businesses facing critical gaps

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/03/09/boston-small-businesses-facing-critical-gaps-inequality-city-hall-report-finds/qUXwBKKS0o3p5DIVlKX6TN/story.html



John Barros, Chief of Economic Development for the City of Boston.

City hall report finds small businesses facing critical gaps
By Dan Adams Globe Staff
March 09, 2016

Many of Boston’s 40,000 small businesses, particularly those owned by women and minorities, are struggling to grow because of city red tape and a lack of access to capital and professional expertise and services, according to a city-commissioned study released Tuesday.

The report, prepared over the past year by Roxbury-based Next Street Financial LLC and Cambridge research company Mass Economics, was ordered by the administration of Mayor Martin J. Walsh. Researchers at the firms collected economic data and interviewed dozens of small business owners, plus lenders, city officials, and other experts.

The analysts found that more than 95 percent of businesses in Boston have fewer than 50 employees or less than $5 million in revenue, forming the backbone of the city’s economy. Collectively those companies generate around $15 billion in revenue annually and employ 170,000 workers — or about 44 percent of total employment by private, for-profit businesses in Boston.

But the study also found troubling disparities, painting a picture of an economy sharply segregated along lines of race, gender, and neighborhood.