Survey findings and summary
After a two-month survey of over 6,000 small business owners nationwide, Thumbtack.com has released new data showing that Phoenix excelled in some categories and struggled in others. It earned a 'D' from small businesses owners for its training programs, but scored a 'B' for its ease of starting a business.
Some of the key findings for Phoenix include:
- Phoenix earned a 'C-' for the relatively high expense associated with hiring an employee.
- Southwestern Arizona is the state's stand-out region, receiving #1 rankings for 13 of the 17 categories rated by small businesses. In contrast, Southeastern Arizona fails along multiple dimensions, receiving the lowest ranking for a variety of categories - the region is the state's most difficult for starting a new business and has the state's least healthy small businesses. Small businesses rated Northern Arizona as being the state's easiest region for starting a business, but the region's businesses were also the state's most pessimistic about their economic future.
