Welcome to the BEST Of the North Bay issue of NorthBay biz magazine. Inside, we reveal the 2014 winners of our annual readers poll, where you’ll get a glimpse of why these companies were voted the BEST in the North Bay. This year, our readers’ response was once again outstanding. There were more than 2,500 ballots cast, which translated to more than 55,000 votes in the 40 different categories. There were more than 1,000 companies and individuals who garnered votes, which underscores the depth and quality of the companies doing business in the North Bay. Given the extent of the competition, the winners should be proud to have emerged as the BEST in their respective category. Often, the vote totals were close; that’s why, several years ago, we began awarding Gold Medals to the companies that finished second. This year’s Gold Medal winners are listed below.
The awards night party this year will take place May 15 at the Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club. The evening wouldn’t be possible without the support of all our fine sponsors: Comcast Business, Marizco Landscape Management, University of San Francisco, Development Plus, Inc., Training Exchange USA, D&S Awards and Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club. I’d like to thank them all, in advance, for their help in making it a night to remember.
Pouring their award-winning wines that night will be an assortment of Wine Country’s finest: J Vineyards & Winery, Jordan Vineyard & Winery, Sbragia Family Vineyards, Seghesio Family Vineyards, Truett Hurst Winery, Benziger Family Winery and Kendall-Jackson Winery. The food complementing the award-winning wine promises to be a feast in its presentation, quality and variety, thanks to the fine staff of Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club.
Congratulations to all the winning companies, thanks to our staff for all they do (every day) and a special thanks to all our NorthBay biz readers, who took the time to vote for the BEST Of the North Bay. We’re looking forward to another outstanding and memorable event.
If you stop and think about it, every business, no matter how large they are today, started out as a small business. GM, Microsoft and General Electric all began with a handful of employees and grew over time to dominate their market sectors. Small businesses are miraculous things often spawned by the inspiration of a single individual or a very small group. Yet, to a large degree, they collectively drive America’s economy.
Following are several, sometimes amazing, facts gleaned from Business Insider:
• There are 28 million small businesses in the United States, outnumbering corporations 1,162 to 1.
• 70 percent of small businesses are owned and operated by a single person.
• Small business employs 57 percent of the country’s private workforce.
• Small businesses pay 44 percent of United States payroll.
• The 77 million people who make up the U.S. business workforce would rank as the 17th most populous country in the world.
• It takes just six days to start a business in the United States, compared to 38 days in China.
• Only 50 percent of small businesses survive five years in operation.
• Immigrants make up 12.5 percent of small business owners nationwide.
• Small businesses create 13 times more patents per employee than do large companies.
• In the 2009 recession, a small business went bankrupt every eight minutes.
• After small business bankruptcies peaked in 2009, they are now lower than consumer bankruptcies.
• One-third of small businesses rely on credit cards for financing.
• Only 2 percent of small businesses are franchises.
• Depending on the particular year, 60 to 80 percent of all new jobs come from small business.
That’s it for now. Please enjoy this special issue of NorthBay biz.
