Building Your Community from Within

1. Building Your Community from Within A NEW FOCUS ON BUSINESS RETENTION & EXPANSION

2. The Vision Focusing on the needs and plans of existing businesses in order to grow new jobs locally

3. Factors • Loss of jobs during the recent economic recession • Loss of jobs due to closure or relocation of manufacturing plants • Fierce competition for large manufacturing plants

4. Statistics Up to 80% of all new jobs in small towns come from existing business expansions Source: “How to Market Your Community for Business Growth”

5. Impact One small business (15 employees) in one year: • Generates $430,000 in payroll for the local community • Generates $45,000 in property taxes • Makes charitable donations of $15,000 to local causes $430,000 $45,000 $15,000 $490,000

6. Business Retention and Expansion A systematic approach to: • Identify problems that could cause employers to leave • Identify opportunities to help companies expand • Build relationships with individual company executives to promote a sense of loyalty

7. Objectives • Demonstrate appreciation to existing firms • Encourage expansion • Solve business problems and retain companies • Connect local businesses to resources • Provide better information on strengths and weaknesses of business climate in community

8. Portfolio Management, What’s Different? Greater focus on an employer’s: • Value to the community • Growth potential • Risk of leaving • Satisfaction More than just the typical existing industry program.

9. The Portfolio In the local community, the portfolio is made up of its employers. How diversified is your portfolio?

10. Portfolio Example

11. A Portfolio Manager • Must be qualified, compensated, given the time and resources, and be customer driven • Diversifies risk by spreading the investment over a number of healthy companies • Gathers and analyzes data regularly about • Strategic direction of companies • Trends in the industries • Issues they face • Prioritizes research based on percentage any one company represents within the portfolio

12. Business Advancement Team A successful Business Advancement Team (BAT): • Does not rely on only one paid professional • Is not necessarily a group with degrees in statistics & business • Is a group of committed individuals from the community • Does have good leadership • Does require some training

13. Team Members The BAT should be made up of: • ED/Chamber members • Local business leaders • City/County government representatives • Utility representatives • State agency representatives

14. 5 Phases in Creating a Successful Program • Organization • Background information gathering & database creation • Industry relations & direct information gathering • Problem solving & opportunity identification • Maintenance and public relations

15. Typical Successful BR&E Identifies plans of existing businesses Prepares community for change Improves quality of jobs available in community Saves spending budget on expensive incentives Attracts outside small businesses to the community Creates better communication with corporate citizens Portfolio Management Creates position of authority for BAT Capitalizes on the true value of Retention & Expansion Maximizes value of ED resources Creates a valuable proprietary database Gives decision-makers valuable information Builds the community from within Benefits +

16. “…as a nation we are not applying our American know-how to keep jobs here. The fact is that many manufacturing and high tech jobs are being lost unnecessarily.” Source: Dr. Ronald R. Pollina, Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Inc.