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Economic Gardening. In Coos County. Presented By:. Agenda. Definition History Components Recommendations. What is Economic Gardening?. An entrepreneurial approach to economic development that seeks to grow the local economy from within.
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Economic Gardening In Coos County Presented By:
Agenda • Definition • History • Components • Recommendations
What is Economic Gardening? • An entrepreneurial approach to economic development that seeks to grow the local economy from within. • Focuses on nurturing local businesses rather than hunting for “big game” outside the area.
Who Does E.G. Serve? • Stage 2 businesses • No longer start-ups • Not yet grown to maturity
Who Does E.G. Serve? • Stage 2 business definitions: • Edward Lowe Foundation: • 10-99 employees • $1 million to $100 million in revenue
Who Does E.G. Serve? • Stage 2 business definitions: • Florida’s GrowFL Program • 10-50 employees • $1 to $50 million in revenue
Who Does E.G. Serve? • Stage 2 business definitions: • Technology Association of Georgia • 19 or fewer employees • High end technology enabled companies • No specific revenue component
Who Does E.G. Serve? • Some stage 2 “symptoms” • Owner/CEO can no longer “do everything” • Many people are no longer aware of what others are doing • Employees lack an understanding of the firm’s ultimate goals
Who Does E.G. Serve? • Why stage 2 businesses?
YourEconomy.org • www.youreconomy.org
Agenda • Definition • History • Components • Recommendations
E.G. History • 1987: Chris Gibbons – hired as economic development director, Littleton, CO • Major employer, Martin Marietta, pulled out of the area, laying off several thousand employees • Downtown 30% vacant • A million square feet of available retail space
E.G. History • In1989 pioneered economic gardening initiative • Over the next fifteen years, saw 136% increase in new jobs.
E.G. Today • Current state-wide programs: • Florida • Wyoming • Georgia • Oregon – task force established
Agenda • Definition • History • Components • Recommendations
Key E.G. Components • Infrastructure • Connectivity • Information
Infrastructure • Developing community assets essential to commerce and quality of life • Transportation • Local examples: • Southwest Oregon Regional Airport • Railroad access project • Education • Local example: • Southwestern Oregon Community College • Cultural amenities • Local example: • Coos Historical & Maritime Museum project
Connectivity • Improving the interaction and exchange among business owners and critical resource providers • Business associations • Local example: • Coos Bay/North Bend Small Business Owners • Professional Associations • Local Example: • Oregon Dungeness Crab Fishermen
Information • Competitive Intelligence • Capital Referrals • Labor Referrals • SEO (search engine optimization) • Social Media • Beyond Facebook • Twitter • Foursquare • Yelp • ???
Competitive Intelligence • Market research • Who are your customers? • Who are your competitors? • Where are the opportunities?
C.I. Examples • GIS – Geographic Information Systems • ESRI Business Analyst Online • Dunn & Bradstreet • Comprehensive business information database
C.I. Example • Checkerberry’s Flowers & Gifts
Information • Capital Referrals • Oregon Entrepreneurs Network • Southern Oregon Angel Network • Oregon Angel Fund
Information • Labor Referrals • Worksource Oregon • Cardinal Services
E.G. in Oregon • Beaverton instituted an economic gardening program in 2009 • Economic development manager Rob Pochert is spearheading the effort • http://www.businessbeaverton.com/EB/EconomicGardening.html
E.G. in Oregon • During the last legislative session, H.B. 3644 established an economic gardening task force • 15 members from a variety of disciplines • A pilot program will be proposed during the next legislative session • State Rep. Jefferson Smith • Target funding $500,000
Kindred Programs • New business incubators • Sustainable business organizations • Main street development • Buy local campaigns
Agenda • Definition • History • Components • Recommendations
Recommendations • Consider potential strategies for providing competitive intelligence to local businesses. • Centralized information resource • SCDC? • Business Development Center? • Southwestern?
Recommendations • Expand partnerships between local businesses, governments and educational institutions. • Connect with other Oregon organizations exploring E.G. programs to share best practices • Monitor state government level initiatives to identify opportunities for funding or partnerships
Web Resources • www.growfl.com • www.georgiagrow.com • www.youreconomy.org • www.littletongov.org • www.esri.com • www.sba.gov