Survey results reveal Highland businesses recovering from COVID, growing again

Highland businesses are recovering from the pandemic and beginning to grow again, according to early results from a survey intended to identify ways Highland can help its businesses prosper.

Approximately 43 businesses responded to a business retention survey coordinated by city leaders. It’s not immediately clear what percentage that might be, according to economic development director Mallord Hubbard, because Highland does not have a business license program to keep tabs on the number of businesses operating in Highland.

“One of the reasons we decided to deploy this is that we don’t have a sure number on the number of businesses we have,” Hubbard said. While the initial response was strong, he said, they hope to keep gathering responses to get 80-100 businesses participating.

As far as surviving the pandemic, “it really depended on what business you’re in,” Hubbard said. Restaurants were hit very hard, while furniture and car dealerships had “a tremendous year.”

In addition, many Highland businesses were successful in getting assistance from the state.

“We tried our hardest to get that information out,” Hubbard said. “But we had no idea how successful we were until we got the reports from the state.”

Those reports, issued by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, indicated at least 50 Highland businesses received federal Paycheck Protection Program loans ranging from $20,000 for a family farm to $125,000 for a restaurant to $3.1 million for a construction company. Churches and plumbers and veterinary clinics and nursing homes alike all received federal funding. Approximately 15 businesses also received assistance from the state.

“Our businesses were able to access those funds and that allowed many of our businesses to survive,” Hubbard said. “We are grateful for that funding.”

The majority of business owners indicated on the survey they don’t have much problem finding a quality work force in Highland. The challenge, Hubbard said, is, especially in manufacturing, businesses find they hire and train new employees as an investment in their workforce, but then the employees are poached off by other companies.

“It’s really competitive out there and definitely one of the aspects we’re focused on,” Hubbard said.

Another perception among business owners is Highland needs more sit-down and coffeeshop-style restaurants, and that it is overloaded with fast food. Hubbard said the city was aware of this perception, and has been trying to attract not only higher-end restaurants, but the potential customer base for them.

“One of the things we’ve been doing for the last couple of years is concentrating on expanding residential homes and opportunities for housing,” Hubbard said.

When restaurants are looking for locations, that’s one of the things they look for, he said. Already Highland is awaiting the opening of a Schlafly’s brewpub on the square, scheduled to open this fall.

Need for larger office space

Highland also has a shortage of larger office space, according to the survey.

“You can find office space for some businesses that only require a smaller space for a few workers,” Hubbard said.

He said some businesses have told him they need bigger space to expand if they want to stay in Highland. But the tech infrastructure and internet support is strong, Hubbard said.

Business owners cited the distance from interstates as both a strength and weakness of Highland’s business community. For some businesses, not being too close to an interstate is helpful, while other opportunities might pass Highland by due to the distance, Hubbard said.

Another statement Highland has an increasing low-income population might not be borne out by facts, at least until census data comes out, Hubbard said.

“It might be more of a perception thing than what the hard data might show,” he said.

Sense of community, city support

In all, the greatest strengths cited by Highland business owners were the sense of community and the city’s support for local business. Hubbard said that wasn’t a surprise at city hall.

“It’s certainly a strength of doing business here,” he said. “I know it makes my job easier.”

Among those efforts: A new facade improvement program recently approved by the city council, which offers up to $10,000 in funding to help existing businesses renovate their building exterior.

Hubbard said they hope to collect more surveys from Highland businesses and will reach out to individual businesses to see how they can help them.

“We want to let our existing businesses know we’re there to support them,” he said.

Businesses interesting in participating should go to highlandil.gov or call Hubbard at 618-654-9891.