The North Bay’s diverse economy works in our favor, as does the area’s beauty and natural resources.
Welcome to the NorthBay biz Top 500 issue. The magazine began publishing this list of the top revenue-producing companies in 1991 as the Sonoma Business 350. In 1997, in response to the growth in Sonoma County, this issue was expanded, and it became the Sonoma Business 500. Now this special issue, in its 25th year, is celebrating its 13th as the NorthBay biz 500, reflecting the magazine’s expansion into Marin and Napa counties in November 2002.
Several years ago, we decided to publish the Top 500 as a bonus issue. In addition to being delivered to all our subscribers, the NorthBay biz Top 500 will be available at newsstands for the entire year—effectively extending its shelf life so it can be a resource to more people and businesses throughout the year.
The business climate in 2014 continued to improve with economic indicators brightening across multiple sectors. While no one can say the economy is roaring back, the jobs picture has gotten better even though too many of the gains were due to increased part-time employment.
Here in the North Bay, we’ve fared better. Overall, business conditions have improved at a faster pace. Not that the local economy didn’t take its share of hits over the past six to seven years, but it’s held up remarkably well, especially when compared to other locales. A 2010 survey released by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index concluded that Sonoma County residents are happier and healthier than anywhere else in California—and we were rated fifth overall in the entire nation.
The North Bay’s diverse economy works in our favor, as does the area’s beauty and natural resources. The area’s tourism and hospitality industry is thriving. The local unemployment rate has dropped as businesses have recovered and been aided by private groups and agencies that 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.
Here are a few facts that show small businesses are not only critical to California’s economic recovery and strength, but in building the nation’s future. Small businesses represent more than 99 percent of all employer firms and employ more than half of all U.S. workers while paying 44 percent of the private sector payroll. Approximately 70 percent of the new American jobs can be attributed to the more than 27 million existing small businesses.
While the business climate in 2014 still faced some challenges, the bright spots grew and the business community remained 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 grown and improved over the past 13 years as we’ve migrated to assembling more information online, simplifying the process and enhancing accuracy. This year, we’ve added the year each company was established (with few exceptions).
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. The Top 500 list will be posted on our website (www.northbaybiz.com) and you can 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, it looks like 2015 will be another improving year.
That’s it for now. We hope you enjoy this special issue of NorthBay biz.
