New Biz Activity Down 2.1% In The Bay State | Worcester still a leader for entrepreneurial activity in Central Mass., followed by Framingham
For all the worry about the state’s economy, new business formations in the Bay State were down just 2.1 percent from January through October of 2008 compared to the previous year, according to an analysis of data by the Worcester Business Journal.
There were 11,679 new domestic limited liability corporations (LLCs) filed with the Secretary of the State during the first 10 months of last year, which was the most up-to-date data available. That’s 246 fewer than the same period in 2007.
Regional Perspective
In Central Massachusetts, Worcester continued to lead the pack with the highest concentration of new businesses. For the first 10 months of 2008, 227 businesses filed for incorporation in Worcester. Month-to-month, Worcester averaged around 20 new businesses, although it saw a high of entrepreneurial activity in January 2008 when 40 new businesses filed with the state.
Although a leader locally, Worcester still trailed Boston and Cambridge for activity. The state’s capital saw 580 new businesses during the 10-month period. Cambridge saw 252.
In Central Massachusetts, Framingham had the next highest concentration of new business activity. It averaged 15 new businesses per month for a total of 160. Marlborough and Shrewsbury also had a good amount of activity last year with 70 and 58 new businesses filed, respectively.
In most local communities August and October 2008 saw the slowest new business activity. Although for Worcester and Framingham the low point was May, with 13 and 10 new businesses respectively.
Some communities saw a steady stream of businesses come to town in the first half of the year, only to see those numbers trail off into what they hope will be a temporary lull.
“Earlier in the year we were quite a bit busier…” said Eric Denoncourt, Shrewsbury’s engineer and planner. “Most of the time we receive between one and three applications a month, but there has been nothing filed for the last couple of months.”
In Sudbury, Marcia Berger started a new business in February called Clean Properties Inc., which cleans up properties with hazardous waste, and has kept busy since starting the new company.
Her company was one of four that started in February in Sudbury, where numbers of new businesses went up and down quite a bit over the year. The town had highs of five new businesses in January and July, and a low of one in April, with two each in June and October. The other seven months ranged between three and four new firms.
While 2008 will be known as the year the Bay State entered a recession, it wasn’t a bad year for Berger to start her business.
“We’ve been very busy, in fact I’m trying to hire more people, but maybe it doesn’t take much to keep a small company busy” she said of her seven-person firm. “Some of our clients say that things are slower for them, but not so slow that they would consider putting off the clean-up work.”
Tiny Towns
Smaller communities saw even more dramatic month-to-month swings during the volatile 2008. Hopkinton was no exception with a high of eight new businesses in January and a low of one in April.
Kathleen Reale of Hopkinton, founder of the web site www.befreeforme.com, is one of those who launched a business in 2008. She started her web site in October, and has found it to be well-received so far. The web site is devoted to information and coupons for food products for those with food allergies and intolerances.
She started working on the site at the beginning of the year, but didn’t launch until the fall.
“In this case, the economy is working in my favor. Manufacturers know that to get people to try certain products they have to help them save money and encourage them to buy the products, so they’re happy to offer coupons,” she said.
Among Worcester’s 227 new businesses to file for incorporation in 2008 is a new law firm. Attorney Robert Stiles of Westborough and Attorney Mel Chacharone of Worcester will combine their practices on West Boylston Street. Stiles said he was sharing offices with two real estate attorneys, both of whom have moved into home offices due to the lack of real estate business.
“It’s partly out of necessity, but it is also trying to bring our practice to the next level while we offer our clients more services,” Stiles said.
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