Bend Entrepreneur Report: 2017 Annual Report
Bend law firm EagerLaw PC began tracking new Bend businesses registered with the Oregon Secretary of State in January 2017. With a full year of data, EagerLaw today released the following findings
Entrepreneurs in Bend Registered More Businesses per Capita than any other City in Oregon
“You know that thing about Bend being an entrepreneurial city? It is. Big time. There was one 2017 business registration in Bend for every 28 residents. In other words, walk down your street and chances are someone and probably multiple someone’s on your street registered a business in 2017,” attorney Jeff Eager said.
The next closest among cities with populations over 30,000 (the numbers get wonky below that population) is Lake Oswego, with one business registration for every 30 residents. Lake Oswego is a wealthy suburb of Portland.
Portland, which registered the largest total number of businesses but also, by far, the largest population, only registered one business for every 84 residents. The statewide average was a business registration for every 65 residents. See table below.
Oregon Secretary of State Registrations by City (Larger Cities Only)
Bend Entrepreneur Report 2017
Business Registrations were Seasonal
“Maybe not surprisingly, entrepreneurs registered more Bend businesses when most folks are working, and not during the summer or the holiday season. The biggest months were March, January, October and May. The slowest were August, November and July,” Eager said.
In general, registrations were strongest at the beginning of the year and, aside from a big month of October, slower in the latter half of the year. See table below.
Looking Ahead to 2018
“With a year of data under our belts, we’ll be able to compare monthly 2018 data with that from 2017. Will the rapid rate of business registration in Bend continue in 2018? It may be that factors such as a tight labor market and limited commercial and industrial space in Bend force a slowdown in registrations. On the other hand, nationally small business and consumer optimism are high,” Eager said.
EagerLaw will release data from January 2018 in early February.
