Small businesses tackle challenges in region that depends on them

Boston Fed report: Small businesses have huge role in New England

The regional importance of small businesses was highlighted in a Boston Fed report released in July, "The Large Role Small Businesses Play in Employment in New England."

The report indicated New England's small businesses (fewer than 500 employees) employed 3.2 million regional workers in 2023, or 47.5%. The national average is 46.3%.

In New Hampshire, just under half of businesses (49.7%) are small businesses, and 18.6% have 19 employees or fewer - like Auspicious Brew. (The national average is 16.7%.)

Collins says she needs to speak often to people like Leavitt. At a roundtable discussion earlier Thursday at Lonza, Collins said the aggregate data she receives from Fed researchers is extremely valuable but all about the past.

"We also want to know what's happening now, we want to know how people are thinking about the future," she said.

Housing costs, workforce woes top-of-mind in conversations with Collins

Two other issues Collins heard about Thursday, and which frequently come up on her regional trips, are high housing costs and the difficulties employers have filling jobs.

At the roundtable discussion at Lonza Portsmouth, Portsmouth Regional Hospital CEO Sean Patterson said recruiting is hurt by a high cost of living, combined with a requirement that on-call staff live within 30 minutes of Portsmouth, in what are often more expensive communities.

"Coupled with the nursing shortage that's nationwide, coupled with the physician shortage that's nationwide, there's a lot of challenges we're facing in our hospital," he said.

Mike Ambrogli, a senior technology fellow at Novocure in Portsmouth, said labor is also a big issue for the company, which makes devices that help treat aggressive cancers.

"We're getting plenty of resumes, but not good resumes. We feel like people are hesitant to take a risk," he said. "Unless they need to, they're not willing to take the risk on a new job, especially in New Hampshire, right? People worry about, 'I'm going come to New Hampshire, if it doesn't work out for me, what else is there?'"

AI impacts - good and bad

Artificial intelligence was also a big topic Thursday. Daniel Gray, president of the Regional Economic Development Center in Portsmouth, said at a Dover roundtable that his organization routinely gets 120-page, AI-generated business plans from people applying for their business microloans. And when they ask the applicant to explain the plan's numbers, they can't do it.

"And it was driving us, to be honest with you, a little crazy," he said.

Others spoke of major AI benefits, including as something to augment their workforce, not reduce it.

"Really, it's around quality, and how are we going to not add to staff but do a lot more production?" said Josephine Moran, CEO of Hanover-based Ledyard Bank and a member of the Boston Fed's Board of Directors.

"Not cutting jobs, not doing anything like that," Moran added. "But just being much more productive and having a better client experience utilizing AI."

Patterson said Portsmouth Hospital is using an AI technology that "listens" - with a patient's permission - to the conversations patients have with doctors and nurses visiting their beds to update their medical charts.

He said staff can miss important voice cues and other signs from patients while charting. But the AI does not, and it creates notes about the visit afterward.

"It has been a rock star, in terms of throughput, in terms of patient experience, in terms of diagnosing faster," Patterson said.