2022 Business Walk Report
THE BUSINESS WALK SURVEY IS AN ANNUAL EFFORT BY THE CRANBROOK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
In partnership with the City of Cranbrook, and Community Futures East Kootenay, we seek to collect data about the barriers to Business in Cranbrook.
The data is collected and aggregated with the intent of using the information to inform programming, advocacy, and supports for business in the community.
The data collected is kept completely confidential and is always stored digitally under password protection. Physical copies are housed in a locked and armed facility. All answers will be kept confidential and personal information collected during the walk, such as name and email address (if given) will not be shared with any organization without the express consent of the respondent, as indicated on the survey. Respondents were encouraged to only fill out questions they are comfortable answering.
THIS YEAR MARKED THE FIRST IN-PERSON BUSINESS WALK SINCE 2019
On September 28th, Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce employees, local business owners, politicians, and other volunteers trekked around Cranbrook businesses and asked them to fill out a short survey.
The top reason for doing business in Cranbrook in 2022 is once again Clientele and Location. In both 2020 and 2019, these were also the top reasons to do business in Cranbrook!
TOP CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED ARE CONSISTENT WITH PROVINCE-WIDE ISSUES
Many respondents noted a correlation between finding employees and the availability of housing in our area. Many respondents noted that some of their employees live in other communities in BC and must travel in to report for work.
This challenge is seen in the high number of respondents noting that affordability and availability of housing have been a challenge to business.
Vandalism and theft, as well as supply chain issues were also in the top challenges to business.