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Published in the Salt Lake Tribune, 10 August 2005

S.L. is magnet for small biz

Report says 72% of Salt Lake County companies employ 9 people or less

By Matt Canham

John Winders creates gourmet ice cream in a small South Salt Lake City factory, flavors like blueberry fig and peanut brittle crunch which are scooped into cones by Kristin Johnson at events like the Farmers Market. Together they are the sole full-time employees of Spotted Dog Creamery, one of the 700 companies with less than five employees that got its start during Utah's recent recession.

In fact, Salt Lake County is a magnet for small businesses, which helps explain why it ranks 42nd among all U.S. counties when it comes to sheer number of companies, according to a U.S. Census report released Monday. The report, detailing business patterns for 2003, also pegs Salt Lake County as 44th in average annual pay.

Only 13 counties in the West made the top 50 list, and Salt Lake County's pay scale is lower than all but three of those counties - Clark County, Nev., San Bernadino and Riverside counties in California.

But, economists point out, Utah job growth has surged, and salaries have climbed even higher in the two years since the Census estimates were conducted. Utah's rankings may or may not have risen during that time, but the economy sure has, according to Jeff Thredgold, economic consultant to Zions Bank.

Though, Thredgold did identify one detail that appears to remain constant, recession or not.

"The engine of the economy is small businesses not large businesses," he said.

The report shows that 72 percent of Salt Lake County companies employ nine people or less, a percentage that has increased steadily over the years. Thredgold expects the figure to grow larger as companies shed employees in favor of profits, and some of those people test the entrepreneurial waters.

Ruth Price and Teri Niccoli opened Four Winds Healing Arts Center in Salt Lake City's Trolley Square just as the recession began to slow in October 2003. Their company acts as a gathering place for massage therapists, life coaches and their patients. Having mortgaged both of their homes to get their company started, Price said they had found it a constant struggle to get customers in the door.

"But I love the challenge," she said.

Supported primarily by the money he makes as a high-end chef, Winders has kept all of Spotted Dog's profits in his company. He dreams of a bigger assembly line and more storage. He is pushing to have his ice cream in more grocery stores and restaurant menus.

Price and Winders live the life of small business owners, and they have more company these days.

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