Civic Economics is conducting a survey of independent storefront retailers and eating and drinking establishments with the goal of quantifying the economic impacts your firm brings to the British Columbia economy. If you run a non-franchised retail store, restaurant, or drinking establishment and all locations are within BC, we would welcome your participation.

The survey is short and simple. It begins with a few questions about the business (Name, Postal Code, Lines of Goods or Services), then asks for the proportion of operating revenue dedicated to the following five items:

1. Profits paid out to BC resident owners;

2. Wages paid to BC resident employees;

3. The purchase of goods and services from other BC businesses for internal use;

4. The purchase of goods from other BC businesses for resale; and

5. Charitable giving to BC organizations.

If you are prepared with access to bookkeeping materials, the survey should take no more than 10-20 minutes to complete.

Your specific answers will remain confidential within Civic Economics; all findings will be aggregated with those of other businesses to quantify the collective impact on the BC economy of independent retailers and restaurants.

The full survey is available at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/BCBusiness and will remain open for participation through November 9, 2012.

Thank you for your willingness to participate.

This work is funded by the Ten Percent Shift, a campaign to support local economies established by CUPE BC. Learn more about their efforts in support of small business at www.tenpercentshift.ca. Civic Economics is an economic analysis and strategic planning consultancy with offices in Austin and Chicago. The firm has conducted a series of related studies demonstrating the impact of independent businesses across the USA. Learn more at www.CivicEconomics.com