DENVER – The Colorado Chamber today released a new report on Colorado’s competitive economic landscape and outlook in collaboration with Dietrich Partners, a nationally recognized Colorado-based business consulting firm. The study assesses the state’s overall business climate and the factors impacting company decisions to expand or contract operations in Colorado.
In developing the report, Dietrich Partners conducted a series of confidential, qualitative interviews with C-suite executives typically lasting more than an hour. While Colorado has the well-earned reputation as a highly desirable place to live and work, key findings expose some of the state’s biggest economic vulnerabilities – from affordability and workforce concerns to state policies that have pushed some company leaders to expand operations outside of the state or consider leaving altogether.
“As the statewide voice of business, we’re focused on a strategic vision to elevate Colorado’s competitiveness,” said Loren Furman, president and CEO of the Colorado Chamber. “We want to be the preferred place where dynamic business leaders choose to invest and innovate, bringing their best ideas and creating jobs and opportunities for Coloradans. The findings in this study are critical for state leaders to understand: the cumulative impact of each new tax, fee and regulatory burden on employers has a real impact on our economic climate. With legislative session underway, we’re asking lawmakers to prioritize regulatory certainty and allow businesses to thrive.”
“We share the optimism expressed by company leaders about benefits and strengths of our state: the acceptance and fostering of social and business culture, quality of life, a talented labor force and innovative spirit,” said Celia Dietrich, executive chair and founder of Dietrich Partners. “We also recognize the challenges facing business leaders across the state with inflation, workforce constraints, housing affordability, regulatory impacts, and growing public safety concerns. Executives should use the findings of this report to understand and prepare for the years ahead. We encourage proactive engagement with policymakers to understand and influence legislation that not only will impact their operations, but the greater business community.”
Dietrich Partners is known for its previous middle-market research reports and data for the Rocky Mountain region. Respondents of this 2023 competitive landscape report represent both public and private Colorado companies operating along the Front Range and Western Slope. Their revenues range from $8 million to $1.5 billion and represent 14 different industries. Participating companies employ between 60 and 3,000 people and have been in business anywhere from two to 97 years.
Report highlights:
- Competitive strengths identified by Colorado business leaders include:
- Colorado’s diverse and growing economy
- Technological innovation
- Sports teams
- Natural beauty and recreation
- Colorado’s biggest vulnerabilities and competitive challenges include:
- And an increasingly complex and cumbersome state legislative and regulatory landscape
- Increasing wages and benefit affordability
- Employee recruitment and retention
- Housing supply and affordability
- Public safety
- Disconnect between state regions
- Policy areas specifically mentioned as challenging for business leaders include: new wage transparency laws, paid leave regulations, the retail delivery fee, and general recordkeeping requirements.
- Business leaders implemented proactive and creative adjustments to address their largest challenges in 2022. This rendered them more confident in their companies’ performance than previous years.
- 2022 sales and production returned to or were exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
- Respondents have largely met budget goals despite compressed margins due to increased costs in materials, human capital, equipment and ongoing supply chain issues.
Major perspectives included in the report:
“More and more people are leaving metro Denver because of the cost of living. This is causing the talent pool to tighten as people and quality talent are driven out of the state. The next shoe to drop is corporations leaving because they cannot find the talent to support their businesses.”
-Matt Joblon, CEO of BMC Investments
“Finding people to work on the line, especially when changing to a two-shift model, is difficult. We will do group interviews and will have 12 people in the group interview, offer employment to eight of them and then only three of them will actually show up for their first day. We’ve had people interview for jobs, complete all the paperwork, order uniforms, and come starting day, 50% or more never show up.”
-CEO, confidential company
“Here people are so active hiking and skiing. A lot of the employees who are in the Denver office really have a great balance: They work, but they also get to be outside and get to do all these fun activities. I think that is something that has really attracted employees to move out to Denver from some of our other office locations.”
-CEO, confidential company
“I think that folks in areas along the Front Range need to remember that there’s another part of the state out here that actually is a very strong part of the state. There’s a real opportunity, I think, for our government to remember the importance of the businesses that are already here and really focus on helping them maintain, expand and improve all the things that they want new companies to do. It seems unfair for somebody to move here and get all the benefits when we’re already here hiring people and helping our communities. It’s like, ‘Hey, what about us? We do it here already!’”
-President, confidential food and beverage company
“Cheyenne’s metro area population is only about 100,000 people, but we feel it will be easier to attract the 100 workers we will need there than in Denver. We don’t see the same worker commitment to their employer in the Denver market that we have experienced in the past. Constantly training new employees significantly impacts our manufacturing efficiencies.”
-Mike Jackson, President of Wright & McGill Company
“I think that folks in areas along the Front Range need to remember that there’s another part of the state out here that actually is a very strong part of the state. There’s a real opportunity, I think, for our government to remember the importance of the businesses that are already here and really focus on helping them maintain, expand and improve all the things that they want new companies to do. It seems unfair for somebody to move here and get all the benefits when we’re already here hiring people and helping our communities. It’s like, ‘Hey, what about us? We do it here already!’”
-John Gibson, CEO of Secret Creek
“The cost to ship a container overseas used to be approximately $3,000 to $3,800. Now the cost is about $20,000, if you can even get the container on a ship since the ports are so backed up. They do not have enough people or drivers to maintain a healthy supply chain.”
-Stuart Smith, CEO of Buehler Companies
“I think the economy’s in for some real growing pains as inflation works itself out and as labor shortages continue. But I think all of that results in really unique opportunities. You have to be able to take advantage of those.”
-Andy Cullen, Partner and Managing Director of Tributary Real Estate
The Colorado Chamber of Commerce champions free enterprise, a healthy business environment and economic prosperity for all Coloradans. It is the only business association that works to improve the business climate for all sizes of business from a statewide, multi-industry perspective. What the Colorado Chamber accomplishes is good for all businesses, and that’s good for the state’s economy. It was created in 1965 based on the merger with the Colorado Manufacturers’ Association.
Dietrich Partners is a nationally recognized business consulting firm providing a leader-to-leader approach to delivering transformational programs, guiding efficient M&A transactions, developing ESG strategies and enhancing operational performance to maximize company value. Dietrich’s client roster encompasses a variety of industries in the public sector, private equity and large public and private companies ranging in size from the middle market to Fortune 100.