CUED

Business Service Center: Needs Assessment Survey, Volume 1

To this end, ICNC received a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration in 1980 for the acquisition and renovation of the Fulton-Carroll Complex bounded by Damen, Fulton, Carroll and Hoyne Avenues. As part of the Fulton-Carroll demonstration, ICNC commissioned the University of Illinois Center for Urban Economic Development (CUED) to assist in developing a Business Service Center (BSC). The BSC will facilitate the development, growth, and sustenance of small businesses by alleviating problems associated with the lack of business management, skills, and capital. While other centers (such as Control Data Corporation's Business Technology Centers) base services on "high-tech" data processing business applications that are usually offered to clients at market rates, ICNC's Center will be "low-tech" in nature and will operate on a "break-even" basis. Services will be functional, basic, and demand responsive--designed to answer specific needs of ICNC-area firms.

In order to determine specific area needs and obtain opinions regarding the proposed BSC, CUED staff developed and conducted a needs assessment survey in the ICNC area during the summer of 1981. Surveys were presented primarily via personal interviews to a sample of 22 ICNC-area firms.

Almost all firms interviewed (19 of 22) were manufacturers, of which many manufactured fabricated metal products and machinery. The majority of sample firms (55%) had two size characteristics in common: businesses employed between 7-14 employees and has between 10,000-25,000 square feet in their plant or facility. Needs assessment survey questions were organized into 17 sections. Other than those questions designed to obtain general background information (number of employees, expansion plans, length of time residing in area, etc.), survey sections directly pertained to potential BSC services.

Clerical service--hourly typists to work in clients' offices
Copier service--a large copier available at the BSC building
Advertising/marketing service--assist firms with advertising strategies and product marketing Product
Shipping/distribution--shipping cooperative where firms share truck loads, and a shipping information service
Purchasing cooperative--group of firms to buy supplies in bulk
Business report service--business consultant to assist firms with financial statements, payroll, and tax reports
Financing service--assistance with loan packaging and site assembly.
Legal assistance--legal counsel to assist with legal problems
Janitorial assistance--group of firms to share services of maintenance crews
Security assistance--group of firms to share services of street patrol
Labor force information--to determine worker recruiting problems and obtain opinions regarding a labor/job information network
Lecture series--lectures to be offered to area workers and employees
Miscellaneous BSC facilities and services--including such items as Post Office substation, conference, room facilities, rental items, resource center, etc.
Data processing information--obtained information regarding present data processing arrangements and/or interest in future data processing services

Analysis of survey responses yielded several general trends. Small firms (especially those employing between 1-6 workers) have simple office and business operations. Such businesses are therefore not likely to need BSC services that support "front office" functions and sophisticated business planning activities (such as clerical services, advertising/marketing consultants, tax and financial report services, conference rooms, lectures, rental items, etc.). On the other hand, basic services such as Post Office substation, employee information network, and security patrols are all items that small businesses appear to need.

Firms employing between 7-25 workers, have developed to the point where paperwork or marketing needs have grown, but an adequate number of personnel may not have been hired to deal with increased work load. Thus, such BSC services as clerical, security, and maintenance services are needed. In addition, firms of this size may be most receptive to BSC services such as advertising and marketing, purchasing cooperative, legal counsel, employee information network, the lecture series, library, and shipping information.

Large firms employing more than 25 workers have relatively sophisticated business systems and appear to be receptive to those BSC services that could make their business operations more convenient and/or cost efficient--the BSC clerical service, purchasing cooperative, employee information pool, and Post Office substation.

On the basis of survey results, a three-phase implementation plan was created for the BSC. Services to be offered during the BSC's first phase of operation should be obviously needed by firms regardless of size, require relatively low overhead costs, and have concrete, easily demonstrable results. Based on the above-mentioned survey trends, and supplementary discussions with area business people, eight services have been chosen that meet these criteria--clerical, purchasing cooperative, financing assistance (already in place via ICNC's Development Corporation), janitorial, security, employee/job information network, contractors information network (a service that would provide clients with the names of local electricians, plumbers, roofers, etc.), and Post Office substation.

The clerical service would provide basic office functions to area firms on an hourly basis. The purchasing cooperative strikes directly at area businessmen's most pressing needs: a means to reduce operating expenses. Similar in nature to the purchasing cooperative are the BSC's proposed janitorial and security services in which groups of firms would be dealing more effectively with common needs (clean-up tasks and crime prevention) than if they were acting on an individual basis. Information networks perform the vital tasks of keeping small business informed and able to efficiently deal with staffing and/or contracting problems. A Post Office substation in the BSC building provides crucial postal services in a convenient location--the heart of the ICNC area.

Second phase services are not necessarily appropriate for immediate implementation, but probably should be added at a later date as the BSC establishes itself. Such services include advertising/marketing, a BSC resource center, lecture series, and shipping information network. These four services received favorable survey response, but on the basis of supplementary discussions with area businessmen, are considered to be either less vital, necessary, or visible than the proposed first-year services.

Third phase services include those that "seem" like good ideas, but for a variety of reasons were given poor reviews by ICNC area businessmen--shipping cooperative, and a distributed data processing system to handle firms' business reports, inventory records, etc. Because these services appear to have potential for future use by the BSC, they have not been eliminated from the service list.

Finally, eight services mentioned in the needs' assessment survey were considered to be, at least for the moment, inappropriate for the BSC--copier service, BSC dock facilities, tax report service, business report service, legal assistance, conference room facilities, and rental items. All eight services received negative feedback from surveyed firms.

With the conclusion of the survey, the BSC project enters a new phase: the specific determination of the manner in which each proposed first year service will be offered. During this new phase, additional discussion will be undertaken with area businessmen, and problems surrounding service ideas will attempt to be resolved.

This website is maintained by Cedric Williams, Manager System Services,
UIC-Center for Urban Economic Development