Springfield Chamber offers small businesses new data comparison tool

It also looks at what average salaries are for not only the region but in the state depending on the type of business. The online tool also provides information such as in which areas similar businesses are doing better or worse.

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It also showcases metrics such as the overall demand of particular businesses as well as the best areas to advertise goods and services, said Amy Donahoe, director of Workforce Development with the Chamber of Greater Springfield.

Local entrepreneurs can access the online tool at www.expandgreaterspringfield.com/SizeUp and are asked to follow the prompt on the website, including sharing the type of business they have as well as the geographical area they wish to explore.

“The Chamber of Greater Springfield recognizes that the small businesses and entrepreneurs in our community benefit from online business assistance in good times and bad,” said Horton Hobbs, the vice president of Economic Development for the Chamber of Greater Springfield.

“We are committed to the success of our local businesses and an important way we can assist them is by delivering industry-specific and hyper-local market research and business intelligence on our website using SizeUp software technology,” he added.

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It is currently free and can be accessed by the general public. However, Hobbs said in the future they may look at whether to make it exclusive to chamber members. It currently costs $5,000 a year for them to offer the service, he added.

Representatives of the chamber said it is important for local entrepreneurs to have access to that type of data in an easy and accessible way as the COVID-19 pandemic has had an immediate economic impact in the region.

The hope is it will aid those that have been impacted financially by the pandemic, especially small businesses. Some of those businesses are starting to reopen after prolonged closures that was part of a state directive designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The tool can also be used to help up-and-coming entrepreneurs chart out their business plan, according to representatives of the chamber.