Congratulations, your community is surviving through this economic slowdown. You took the initiative and made the necessary adjustments with your strategic plan, weeded out under-performing initiatives or projects, shed unreliable marketing efforts and concentrated your marketing dollars on channels that prove to deliver a strong return on investment. Your organization may even have downsized, either voluntarily or involuntarily.
Now, you are looking for the signs that the economy is on the rebound and the opportunity to increase investment into your community and some fun. Here are a few recommendations to plan ahead:
Focus on high-potential opportunities. Make sure you focus on building relationships with the individuals and businesses in growth industries, where pent-up demand is going to be unleashed once the economy turns the corner.
Don’t assume a return to normal. The competitive landscape will have changed and you need to listen closely to your existing business base and potential investors to revise your market assumptions.
Know your lead indicators. Every economic developer should be aware of the specific indicators, macro or micro, that predict demand and interest for their community. Use common sense, take a look around your community and region to see what is happening right now.
Be ahead of the crowd. Don’t wait to heard an official declaration the recovery is underway. Get ahead of the crowd and develop your recovery plan now and pull the trigger when your lead indicators say go.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Economic Development 101: Economic Development Defined
Whenever the topic of economic development arises, even among those who have been in the industry for years, you will get a variety of definitions for what the term means. It’s not only a struggle sometimes to define economic development but throw in a few other terms like “community economic development”, “technology-led economic development”, “business development” and things can get very complicated.
Here’s a quick glossary to economic development terms based on a variety of sources including the International Economic Development Council, University of Waterloo and the Worldbank.
Economic Development (ED): Economic development is most commonly described as the creation of jobs and wealth, and the improvement of quality of life. Economic development can also be described as a process that influences growth and restructuring of an economy to enhance the economic well being of a community.
Community Economic Development (CED): A process by which a community and its institutions organize economic activity in ways that benefit the community as a whole, and leads to community and individual empowerment through strategies, which encourage cooperation and interdependence. CED creates community wealth and assets through developing and preserving affordable housing, developing viable neighbourhood-serving commercial activities, creating and retaining jobs and businesses, promoting labour force development, and cultivating indigenous leadership.
Local Economic Development (LED): Local economic development offers local government, the private sector, the not-for-profit sectors and the local community the opportunity to work together to improve the local economy. It aims to enhance competitiveness and thus encourage sustainable growth that is inclusive.
Neighbourhood Economic Development: Neighbourhood revitalization seeks to improve a neighbourhood's physical, economic, and social conditions to improve the overall quality of life and economic opportunities for neighbourhood residents.
Technology-Led Economic Development: Technology-led economic development fosters the development of new technology-based products and encourages the deployment of technologies to the private sector
Here’s a quick glossary to economic development terms based on a variety of sources including the International Economic Development Council, University of Waterloo and the Worldbank.
Economic Development (ED): Economic development is most commonly described as the creation of jobs and wealth, and the improvement of quality of life. Economic development can also be described as a process that influences growth and restructuring of an economy to enhance the economic well being of a community.
Community Economic Development (CED): A process by which a community and its institutions organize economic activity in ways that benefit the community as a whole, and leads to community and individual empowerment through strategies, which encourage cooperation and interdependence. CED creates community wealth and assets through developing and preserving affordable housing, developing viable neighbourhood-serving commercial activities, creating and retaining jobs and businesses, promoting labour force development, and cultivating indigenous leadership.
Local Economic Development (LED): Local economic development offers local government, the private sector, the not-for-profit sectors and the local community the opportunity to work together to improve the local economy. It aims to enhance competitiveness and thus encourage sustainable growth that is inclusive.
Neighbourhood Economic Development: Neighbourhood revitalization seeks to improve a neighbourhood's physical, economic, and social conditions to improve the overall quality of life and economic opportunities for neighbourhood residents.
Technology-Led Economic Development: Technology-led economic development fosters the development of new technology-based products and encourages the deployment of technologies to the private sector
Monday, March 2, 2009
So, You Want to be in Economic Development
Welcome to the boondoggle of Economic Development. It will frustrate you, empower you, challenge you, mock you, consume you and all before you’ve had your second cup of coffee. Are you sure you’re cut out for it? We asked a few economic developers to come up with a list of questions you should ask yourself before you determine whether this is the right job for you.
Are you willing and able to bear a great deal of responsibility on your shoulders? In economic development the good times and, particularly the bad times, rest on your shoulders. Have you created an environment for your community to grow? Did you do everything you could to attract the company that ended up locating in your competitor’s community? And, just for the heck of it, when are you going to turn this economy around?
Are you willing to sacrifice your lifestyle for potentially many years? This is especially true for communities just starting economic development. You will be called upon to attend every meeting and every event. You can be busy from 6 am to midnight, seven days a week. You will need to learn how to say no and how to ensure you are at the right meetings/events and not just wasting time.
Do you like all aspects of running a business? Because that’s pretty much what you will be doing as an economic developer. You will manage, you will budget, you will promote, you will sell, you will hire, you will fire. Depending on the size of your community, you will be the receptionist, the data entry clerk, the decision maker, the administrator, the finance guru and the HR specialist.
Are you comfortable throwing the playbook out the window? There are too many times when an economic developer has to make a decision quickly and efficiently. The “rules” don’t apply and you need to make sure you’re ready for any fall out that may happen. Your day is going to have very little structure and you will be making decisions with limited or no guidance whatsoever. You better make sure it’s always the right decision.
How persuasive and well-spoken are you? Many aspects of economic development relies on selling – your community, your businesses, your stakeholders. You will continually be called upon to sell your community’s vision and mission. You will need to get people to believe in your vision as much as you do. Your presentation skills will need to be polished. You will be in the public eye and many times you will be the face of the community.
Still willing to become an economic developer? Well, then, hold on – it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Are you willing and able to bear a great deal of responsibility on your shoulders? In economic development the good times and, particularly the bad times, rest on your shoulders. Have you created an environment for your community to grow? Did you do everything you could to attract the company that ended up locating in your competitor’s community? And, just for the heck of it, when are you going to turn this economy around?
Are you willing to sacrifice your lifestyle for potentially many years? This is especially true for communities just starting economic development. You will be called upon to attend every meeting and every event. You can be busy from 6 am to midnight, seven days a week. You will need to learn how to say no and how to ensure you are at the right meetings/events and not just wasting time.
Do you like all aspects of running a business? Because that’s pretty much what you will be doing as an economic developer. You will manage, you will budget, you will promote, you will sell, you will hire, you will fire. Depending on the size of your community, you will be the receptionist, the data entry clerk, the decision maker, the administrator, the finance guru and the HR specialist.
Are you comfortable throwing the playbook out the window? There are too many times when an economic developer has to make a decision quickly and efficiently. The “rules” don’t apply and you need to make sure you’re ready for any fall out that may happen. Your day is going to have very little structure and you will be making decisions with limited or no guidance whatsoever. You better make sure it’s always the right decision.
How persuasive and well-spoken are you? Many aspects of economic development relies on selling – your community, your businesses, your stakeholders. You will continually be called upon to sell your community’s vision and mission. You will need to get people to believe in your vision as much as you do. Your presentation skills will need to be polished. You will be in the public eye and many times you will be the face of the community.
Still willing to become an economic developer? Well, then, hold on – it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Raise Your Level of Economic Development (Part II)
Previously we provided five steps that you can take to raise the level of how you do economic development. Here’s four more:
Start a newsletter – an inexpensive way to stay in the forefront of your prospects and to maintain communication with your existing businesses is through a newsletter. You determine the frequency and the content but keep in mind what your expectations are and make sure you are providing interesting and valuable information to your subscribers.
Maintain relationships – whether this is with your stakeholders, local businesses, prospects or media, make sure you have strong relationships. That means you have to actually work on it. Invite a business or media contact to lunch. If you are in another city, schedule a meeting with a prospect. Consider hosting an annual event where your businesses and stakeholders are invited.
Lead by example – the current push is towards green and it’s no different for economic development. Many communities are developing green strategies for attracting and encouraging home-grown green businesses. Take the lead and do something green. Here you can find two simple ways to help your organization become more environmentally friendly – green is the new black.
Upgrade yourself – a key element to successful economic development is being aware of the current best practices and knowing what works and what doesn’t. Professional development should be seen as a requirement for you and your staff. Most times professional development is an add-on to a conference, make sure you take the time to attend. Conferences themselves can provide valuable information and key networking opportunities that can go a long way. But dedicated professional development will help you do your job better.
Start a newsletter – an inexpensive way to stay in the forefront of your prospects and to maintain communication with your existing businesses is through a newsletter. You determine the frequency and the content but keep in mind what your expectations are and make sure you are providing interesting and valuable information to your subscribers.
Maintain relationships – whether this is with your stakeholders, local businesses, prospects or media, make sure you have strong relationships. That means you have to actually work on it. Invite a business or media contact to lunch. If you are in another city, schedule a meeting with a prospect. Consider hosting an annual event where your businesses and stakeholders are invited.
Lead by example – the current push is towards green and it’s no different for economic development. Many communities are developing green strategies for attracting and encouraging home-grown green businesses. Take the lead and do something green. Here you can find two simple ways to help your organization become more environmentally friendly – green is the new black.
Upgrade yourself – a key element to successful economic development is being aware of the current best practices and knowing what works and what doesn’t. Professional development should be seen as a requirement for you and your staff. Most times professional development is an add-on to a conference, make sure you take the time to attend. Conferences themselves can provide valuable information and key networking opportunities that can go a long way. But dedicated professional development will help you do your job better.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Raise Your Level of Economic Development (Part I)
The new year is well underway and maybe you’re finding that what was working in the past no longer does. Things have shifted dramatically in the past year and if you’re still doing economic development the same way it might be time to re-evaluate and raise the bar.
What is expected of you – this has been mentioned time and time again in previous posts. You need to know what is expected of you as an economic developer. One of the key ways to do that is to talk to your business community, your stakeholders and your prospects. Whether you pick up the phone, develop a survey or just implement a feedback form on your website, start the communication.
What’s your strategy – this has also been mentioned in previous posts. Many economic development organizations are operating on a tight budget with very little staff resources. We end up reacting instead of being pro-active. You need to be clear on your strategic objectives and goals. You need to communicate these objectives within your organization and ensure everyone is on the same page.
What is your Community doing differently – There are many examples in business where a company stands out from the crowd. Economic development can learn from them. Take Zappo’s for example, all they do is sell shoes but they manage to set themselves far apart from their competitors. What do you want your community to be known for? Can you write it down in less than 25 words? Focus on the vision for your community and then you can start to be it.
Expand your boundaries – we hear it all the time, regionalization. In a lot of cases it makes sense to partner with your neighbouring communities or even wider, a province or a state. No one can do it alone and that can be true for a community. Don’t just partner for partnering sake. Make sure the partnership is clearly defined, that each participant knows the expectations and responsibilities. The partnership has to work for everyone and not just a select few.
Web 2.0 – get on board with new technology. There are so many applications available online that can be used for economic development. Social networks can be very advantageous for community economic development but you need to be clear on what it is you want from it. Pick one of the many DIY survey websites, link to websites of value, or just commit to mastering one new technological skill.
What is expected of you – this has been mentioned time and time again in previous posts. You need to know what is expected of you as an economic developer. One of the key ways to do that is to talk to your business community, your stakeholders and your prospects. Whether you pick up the phone, develop a survey or just implement a feedback form on your website, start the communication.
What’s your strategy – this has also been mentioned in previous posts. Many economic development organizations are operating on a tight budget with very little staff resources. We end up reacting instead of being pro-active. You need to be clear on your strategic objectives and goals. You need to communicate these objectives within your organization and ensure everyone is on the same page.
What is your Community doing differently – There are many examples in business where a company stands out from the crowd. Economic development can learn from them. Take Zappo’s for example, all they do is sell shoes but they manage to set themselves far apart from their competitors. What do you want your community to be known for? Can you write it down in less than 25 words? Focus on the vision for your community and then you can start to be it.
Expand your boundaries – we hear it all the time, regionalization. In a lot of cases it makes sense to partner with your neighbouring communities or even wider, a province or a state. No one can do it alone and that can be true for a community. Don’t just partner for partnering sake. Make sure the partnership is clearly defined, that each participant knows the expectations and responsibilities. The partnership has to work for everyone and not just a select few.
Web 2.0 – get on board with new technology. There are so many applications available online that can be used for economic development. Social networks can be very advantageous for community economic development but you need to be clear on what it is you want from it. Pick one of the many DIY survey websites, link to websites of value, or just commit to mastering one new technological skill.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Read the Signs
The economy is declining and experts are struggling with their predictions for the upswing. Here’s some ways you can look within your own community for signs of recovery. Some of the signs will be anecdotal – you have to park your car further from the mall; the contractor takes longer to return your call; your friends or co-workers are taking vacations away again. More tangible signs of recovery include:
Housing sales – we all saw the rapid decrease in sales and values to start the downtown. While there is still little to be optimistic about pay close attention to home sales, both new and existing. As they start to recover so does your community’s economy.
Employment – Canada lost 129,000 jobs while the US lost almost 600,000 in January alone and it may continue to get worse before it gets better. Many employers are cutting back hours instead of layoffs so one of the first signs of recovery is increased hours of work. Currently it’s at a record low of 33.3 hours per week. Look for a stabilized increase over a two to three month period. Another sign of recovery is the hiring of temporary workers.
Car sales – the automobile industry has been hit hard. Big ticket items like cars are one of the first indicators of an economic slowdown as consumers start to tighten the belt. An encouraging sign of recovery is when consumers start to loosen their belt and begin to buy again. Keep a close watch on stabilizing car sales.
Retail sales – Consumers are shying away from purchases that are not seen as necessities and the retail industry is clearly showing the signs. Discounters like Wal-Mart are bucking the trend as consumers shop for the best price available. As consumers start to feel more confident in spending the retail industry as a whole will start an upward trend while the discounters will see a more even playing field.
Pasta – as any college student knows pasta is a cheap meal and sales are increasing as consumers shop for value. Early recovery sign will show a decrease in the sale of pasta. The largest pasta producer in North America is the American Italian Pasta Company. They have seen a dramatic increase in sales – 43% in 2008 over the previous year. Watch their stock price to see signs of recovery.
Movies – As consumers are only buying what is seen as a necessity, things like going to the movies are seen as an extravagance. The number of tickets sold dropped 4% last year as consumers stopped or reduce the number of times they go to the movie theatre. The increase in ticket prices will be an early sign of economic recovery.
Housing sales – we all saw the rapid decrease in sales and values to start the downtown. While there is still little to be optimistic about pay close attention to home sales, both new and existing. As they start to recover so does your community’s economy.
Employment – Canada lost 129,000 jobs while the US lost almost 600,000 in January alone and it may continue to get worse before it gets better. Many employers are cutting back hours instead of layoffs so one of the first signs of recovery is increased hours of work. Currently it’s at a record low of 33.3 hours per week. Look for a stabilized increase over a two to three month period. Another sign of recovery is the hiring of temporary workers.
Car sales – the automobile industry has been hit hard. Big ticket items like cars are one of the first indicators of an economic slowdown as consumers start to tighten the belt. An encouraging sign of recovery is when consumers start to loosen their belt and begin to buy again. Keep a close watch on stabilizing car sales.
Retail sales – Consumers are shying away from purchases that are not seen as necessities and the retail industry is clearly showing the signs. Discounters like Wal-Mart are bucking the trend as consumers shop for the best price available. As consumers start to feel more confident in spending the retail industry as a whole will start an upward trend while the discounters will see a more even playing field.
Pasta – as any college student knows pasta is a cheap meal and sales are increasing as consumers shop for value. Early recovery sign will show a decrease in the sale of pasta. The largest pasta producer in North America is the American Italian Pasta Company. They have seen a dramatic increase in sales – 43% in 2008 over the previous year. Watch their stock price to see signs of recovery.
Movies – As consumers are only buying what is seen as a necessity, things like going to the movies are seen as an extravagance. The number of tickets sold dropped 4% last year as consumers stopped or reduce the number of times they go to the movie theatre. The increase in ticket prices will be an early sign of economic recovery.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Business Retention
Why are there so many economic development organizations still not in touch with their local business communities? No matter what the economic climate is, a well developed Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) program is a must for all economic development organizations. This isn’t rocket science. The program doesn’t need to be complex and costly. In fact, there are many tools on the internet that can help. Here are just a few:
Ministry of Ontario – provides full BRE resources including a video, survey broken out into specific industry questions, web-based applications and funding information.
University of Minnesota – provides a Business Retention & Expansion Strategies program. They offer workshops and design a full program for a community. They provide much of their information on the internet for download at no cost including a BRE Handbook and survey template.
Ohio BR&E Initiative – here you can get audio podcast and transcript of why your community needs a BRE program plus supporting information including a handbook, sample survey and success stories.
Just these three websites alone will provide you with more than sufficient information to start a BRE program. There are no excuses. In a depressed economy, your local businesses are vital, in a vibrant economy, your local businesses are vital.
Ministry of Ontario – provides full BRE resources including a video, survey broken out into specific industry questions, web-based applications and funding information.
University of Minnesota – provides a Business Retention & Expansion Strategies program. They offer workshops and design a full program for a community. They provide much of their information on the internet for download at no cost including a BRE Handbook and survey template.
Ohio BR&E Initiative – here you can get audio podcast and transcript of why your community needs a BRE program plus supporting information including a handbook, sample survey and success stories.
Just these three websites alone will provide you with more than sufficient information to start a BRE program. There are no excuses. In a depressed economy, your local businesses are vital, in a vibrant economy, your local businesses are vital.
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