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Houston Business Barometer Week 2: 30% Say Outlook Has Worsened, Nearly Half Under Hiring Freeze

Published Apr 15, 2020 by A.J. Mistretta

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Small business executives are most worried about revenue and their employees’ well-being, according to the latest member survey conducted by the Greater Houston Partnership. 

A total of 140 small business companies responded to the second Houston Business Barometer survey conducted by the Partnership between April 13-14. The number of respondents who have instituted work-from-home practices in their company climbed to 93.8% (up from 84% last week), while 24.6% have shut down whole or partial operations (up from 22.5% last week). 

Nearly half (47.1%) of responding companies said they had enacted a hiring freeze (up from 36% a week ago), and 53.6% indicated their revenues have declined since their last billing cycle (down a bit from 56.7%). 

When asked about their firm’s short-term outlook during the week that ended April 11 compared with the previous week, 30.7% indicated it had gotten worse and another 42.1% said there was no change. 

Asked how the fallout from the pandemic has impacted their operations, 41% said their operations have been severely impacted (down from 53.3% a week earlier) while 34.5% said the impact has been moderate (up from 28.9%). 

Respondent firms’ top three concerns were revenue/sales (85.7%), employee well-being (67.9%) and profits (66.4%). 

The following breaks down how long firms now believe they could remain afloat based on projected cash flow and without federal assistance:
 

Time Period                       Respondents
1-2 weeks                          0.0%
3-4 weeks                          4.3%
5-6 weeks                          4.3%
7-8 weeks                         10%
3-6 months                        19.3%
Longer than 6 months      50.7%
Don’t know                        11.4%

See results from Week 1

Visit the Partnership's COVID-19 Resource page for updates, guidance for employers and more information. And sign up for daily email alerts from the Partnership as the situation develops. 

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Brooksource: Brooksource is a business management consultant based in Houston, Texas that specializes in delivering Engineering and IT solutions and initiatives for Fortune 500 organizations. Website. Capital IDEA Houston, LLC: Capital IDEA Houston is a non-profit that fully funds education and training for adults who are unemployed or have lower-paying jobs, providing educational pathways to attain thriving careers and financial self-sufficiency. Website. Cell Therapy Manufacturing Center (CTMC): CTMC is a joint venture between National Resilience and MD Anderson Cancer Center located in the Texas Medical Center. CTMC unites robust biopharmaceutical manufacturing with access to MD Anderson Cancer Center’s leading research capabilities into groundbreaking medicines to cure cancer. Website. Complete Shipping Solutions Corp.: Complete Shipping Solutions is a global 3PL solutions provider, offering industry-leading technology through a SMARTT Shipping platform. Website. 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Houston Business Journal: Houston Business Journal is a newspaper publisher that delivers local business news, breaking news alerts, newsletters, business intelligence and local business networking for the Houston, Texas, region. Website. H-Town Dream Center: H-Town Dream Center is a community center in Splendora, Texas with a mission to give the hope, healing and freedom of Christ to the most vulnerable by feeding the hungry, rescuing women and children in crisis, and educating at-risk youth. Website. Intervene K-12: Intervene K-12 uses data-driven instruction with online small group intervention programs to help K-12 schools improve student outcomes, providing a fully integrated intervention program educators use to drive measurable student growth. Website. Magnum Staffing Services, Inc.: Magnum Staffing Services is a recruiting and staffing solutions firm based in Houston, Texas, specializing in workforce strategy, talent management, and providing staffing solutions for various industries, including warehouse distribution, logistics, manufacturing, and professional services. Website. Metro Houston Charter Bus: Metro Houston Charter Bus is a charter bus rental company providing flexible scheduling, trained drivers, and transparent pricing to make budgeting simple. Website. Minaret Foundation: Minaret Foundation is a multi-faith organization based in Houston, Texas focused on bringing faith communities together by tackling on issues related to child welfare and food insecurity. Website. Moelis & Co.: Moelis & Company is a global independent investment bank that provides financial advisory services to corporations, governments, and financial sponsors. Website. Mo'Kai'Ana Luxury Transport: Mo'Kai'Ana is a luxury chauffeur service for special events in Cypress, TX and the surrounding Houston Area, offering a variety of van services fully licensed by the city of Houston with background checked chauffeurs. Website. One Digital: OneDigital Impact Studio is an insurance brokerage, financial services, and HR consulting firm that provides a centralized platform that equips companies with real-time visibility and heightened control over their organization's total spending. Website. Palletized Trucking, Inc.: Palletized Trucking provides freight transportation services for domestic and international markets shipping through the Port of Houston to sectors including the petrochemical, construction, fabrication, energy, oilfield, and manufacturing industries. Website. Plug and Play Tech Center: Plug and Play Tech Center is an American venture capital firm headquartered in Sunnyvale, California focusing on deploying capital to early-stage technology companies. Website. Rigid Global Buildings: Rigid Global Buildings is metal buildings manufacturer based in Houston, Texas, offering custom and pre-engineered metal building solutions. Website. SKW Real Estate: SKW Real Estate is a real estate agency specializing in buying and selling homes, serving the Houston area. Website. The Hackett Center at Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute: The Hackett Center at Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute is non-profit organization working at the intersection of policy and programs to create equitable systemic changes so all people in Texas, the nation, and the world can obtain the health care they need. Website. Tricon Energy: Tricon Energy is a logistics service in Houston, Texas that offers chemical and plastics trading and distribution services in general and liquid chemical, aromatic, methanol, solvent, chlor alkali, and more. Website. Trinity River Authority: The Trinity River Authority of Texas is a conservation and reclamation district that provides water and wastewater treatment, along with recreation and reservoir facilities, within the nearly 18,000-square-mile Trinity River basin. Website. Venice: The Bridge Church is a nondenominational Christian church serving the Venice, FL, community with a mission to help people find and follow Jesus Christ here and around the world. Website.  Zoho: Zoho is an Indian multinational technology company that makes computer software and web-based business tools designed to help break down silos between departments and increase organizational efficiency. Website.   Click here to see the Partnership's Membership Directory.   To learn more about membership with the Greater Houston Partnership click here, or contact membership@houston.org.
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