Conference to Examine Regional Survey

Results of a first-of-its-kind survey on the status of small business in Southern California will be discussed by local economists at the Small Business Strategies Conference sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.

Foremost among the results is that most small businesses feel government regulation is slowing their growth, said William Gartner, panel member and professor of entrepreneurship at USC.

Co-sponsored by The Times and USC, the survey sampled 30,000 randomly chosen small businesses in Los Angeles and surrounding counties.

“There are a lot of hindrances government puts on small business that prevents their growth,” Gartner said. “I think policymakers are going to think the results are fairly powerful if they want to retain and grow small businesses in their communities.”

The panel, called “Southern California Boom,” is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. Oct. 17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Other panel members include Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles Development Corp., and Liam McGee, president of Bank of America’s operations in Southern California.

The discussion of the survey is among about 40 speeches, panels and workshops scheduled during the inaugural two-day conference geared toward helping small businesses succeed.

Other topics include technology, financing, growth planning, marketing, management and entrepreneurship.

Registration is $99 for both days and $70 for one day. For more information, call (800) 350-3211 or visit the conference’s Web site at http://161.35.110.226/sbsc.

Exhibition space is also available by calling (213) 237-3042.