Is my market growing or shrinking?
Wrong call costs a year of growth
~$120,000/yr
An owner who expands into a shrinking market eats the carry. An owner who holds back in a growing market misses the window. One year of the wrong read typically costs a six-figure swing in a mid-size local trade.
Built from 29M business records: new formations, closures, hiring velocity, competitor density, review volume delta per category per city.
Three things that fix it
- 1Watch the leading indicators, not the lagging ones
Permit filings, LLC formations, and hiring activity move 3 to 6 months before revenue. Waiting for category revenue data is waiting too long.
- 2Compare your market against national averages
A 2% growth market in a 7% national category is quietly a problem. A 4% growth market in a -1% national category is an opportunity. Context matters.
- 3Track at the ZIP level, not the city level
Cities average out. Individual ZIPs and service areas can move in opposite directions. The signal lives at the neighborhood level.
Sounds like a lot to track?
Your Market Analyst builds a weekly read on your city, your category, and the national trend. You get a simple answer: growing, holding, or shrinking, with the numbers behind it. The chart is there when you want it. The answer is there when you don't.