Welcome to the NorthBay biz Top 500 issue. The business climate in 2013, although encouraging due to improving economic news, continued to contribute its share of negative national and state news, especially on the job front. However, we in the North Bay were more fortunate. Overall, business conditions got better here at a faster pace. The local economy took its share of hits over the past five years, but it’s held up remarkably well, especially when compared to other locales. In a survey released in 2010 by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Sonoma County residents are happier and healthier than anywhere else in California—and are rated fifth overall in the entire nation. The North Bay’s diverse economy works in our favor, as does the area’s beauty and myriad natural resources. The tourism/hospitality industries are healthy and growing. The unemployment rate has dropped as private groups and agencies have concentrated their efforts on creating jobs. It’s becoming plain that energy, the economy and the environment are intertwined, and letting them work in concert is a winning solution.
While the overall business climate in 2013 still had many challenges, the bright spots grew and the market remains a very competitive environment. So, we’d like to congratulate each company that made this year’s Top 500 list. It took creativity and courage to make the difficult decisions that resulted in positioning each company for success.
We strive to make the NorthBay biz Top 500 list as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Our database has really grown and improved over the past 12 years as we’ve migrated to assembling more information online, simplifying the process and enhancing accuracy.
Some companies provide their revenue numbers as estimates because their fiscal years are incomplete. We report those numbers as verified because the company supplied them. When the company can’t or won’t divulge revenues, we estimate based on history, research and comparative industry data. If a company is headquartered here we count all its revenues. If a company does business here, but is headquartered elsewhere, we count only its North Bay-generated revenue. Six zeros have been omitted from all the revenue numbers on the list because of space constraints. Therefore, the first four companies on this year’s list reported revenues in the billions, and every other company reported revenues in the millions.
We work hard on this issue to make it as complete and accurate as possible. If you discover any inaccuracies, or if we’ve overlooked a company that merits inclusion, please let us know and we’ll correct it in the future, and please contact us there if you have any input about this year’s list.
We certainly hope you enjoy perusing the Top 500 and find it interesting, informative and useful in running your business. The North Bay possesses tremendous economic power and vitality, and with a little luck and continued hard work, let’s hope 2014 turns out even better.
That’s it for now. We hope you enjoy this special issue of NorthBay biz.
