http://www.blanecanada.com

http://www.synchronist.com

November  2001, Volume 4, Issue e/11, ISBN 1527-5175

~~~"Go the extra mile. It's never crowded."  Executive Speedwriter Newsletter, provided by Linda Hill, NY

~~~Entrepreneurship policy... is 1) capital formation, 2) management support, and 3) ideas and motivation. Those interested in entrepreneurship-driven economic development place the most emphasis on capital. Some effort goes to support management skills and virtually nothing goes into ideas and motivation. The truth is, we should be doing just the opposite. Entrepreneurship is about ideas and the motivation to act. Management skills are critical. Most entrepreneurs find their initial seed capital within their cluster of family and friends. If entrepreneurship is part of your development strategy, take a fresh look at your approach. Source: William Dennis, National Federation of Independent Businesses

~~~Bad policy... The typical policy in economic development is attraction, cost saving, and public works for business. The missing piece is, of course, business development - maximizing the value of the companies already in the community. Some call it economic gardening. If you are not abreast of this trend, catch up. The most valuable stock in your portfolio is not the one you are going to buy, but rather, the one you already have.

~~~By the way... Eric will be speaking for the California Association of Local Economic Developers on Nov. 7-8 in Burbank. He'll be addressing the topic of portfolio management in more detail. For specifics: http://www.caled.org

~~~If you stop... marketing because you think the recession is here - it's here. If you don't keep hustling, it will get worse. The recession becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy executed willingly.

~~~PS... Rick Weddle's commentary (ED Marketing Letter 10/01) on "how the ED professional should handle an economic downturn" is sage advice but I will add another sentence. If you have had more than your share of disagreements with board members during the good times when you were providing strong leadership, an economic downturn may be just what they were looking for to make a change. Leadership capabilities MAY have little to do with what stage the economy is in. H. Gregory Reid, CED, VA

~~~Harry Watts (KS) wrote: "Interesting information, thanks for sharing this (ED Marketing Letter) with me.  By the way, what are the three best newsletters published for ED professionals and only one is correct?"

~~~Moving beyond digital..."Harry, your comment was very interesting in that it followed another reader who suggested that we ask readers to list their favorite e-mail newsletters.  We had discussed doing this in the November letter... and along comes your answer to the question that had not even been posted yet. Zap! That's cool. We're moving beyond digital. Can existential economic development be far off?

~~~For the rest... of you who are not quite as on-top-of-it as Harry, send us the details on your personal top three electronic newsletters (work related - we'll do a humor poll later). We will compile the results and share later.

~~~Labor data sources... can be very expensive, often out-of-date, and not specific enough. Jim Anderson, located in the Upper Peninsula (MI),  is very knowledgeable about the subject. Federal Wage Record information, for instance, is referred to as ES-202 data. Workforce Development Boards, educational institutions, and public economic development organizations can apply to their state Department of Labor to access this information for research purposes. The USDOL’s ALMIS database includes businesses, contact names, address, and telephone for businesses required to file wage record information. With regular updating, the data is more accurate than sources such as D & B and is less costly.

~~~Union data... Don’t over look the local university faculty responsible for instruction/research in labor relations. As Peter Myall, Toronto, points out, the University of Toronto maintains a specific library pertaining to this. Same holds true in the US.

~~~Short on volunteers?... Consider students at the local community college or university. Whether in business, communications, or engineering, there are ways to tap this talent pool while benefiting from their desire to add relevance to the resume. They can prepare preliminary drafts for newsletters, interview executives for industry-specific data, etc. It requires your time and direction, though, to make their output useful.

~~~Prepared... for the future cuts in economic development? The May 7, 2001 issue of "Business Week"  article entitled "The States Get Squeezed Post-boom, they can't count on the same kind of cash flow."  Worth the read. We're currently conducting research comparing state department of commerce budgets, programs, and outcomes. If you represent such a department and are interested in sharing detailed data, we'll include your state in the investment/performance analysis. nblane@blanecanada.com

~~~R.E.A.C.T... Retention, Expansion, Attraction, Creation, and Transition (REACT). Whatever you call it, its work. Taking care of business in southern Illinois. Randolph County Progress Committee, Inc. Source: Ed Crow

~~~Team effort... A Team Florida Business Assistance Task Force has been formed to assess and recommend strategies to minimize the impact of 9/11 and subsequent events. Representatives of Enterprise Florida, the Florida Economic Development Council, and local economic development partners are involved. Presentations of the analysis were given to both houses of the legislature. In one locale, an international economist spoke regarding long-term trends in the changed economy. They're trying to keep the info flowing and generate an environment of support. Job well done!

~~~Fear of contact... To read many economic development marketing plans, you would think the author was afraid of having physical contact. Plans call for directories, sales pieces, slide shows, brochures, and web sites. These, of course, have no value unless someone has contact with the prospective client. Long ago, we learned that the phone rings in direct proportion to the number of calls we initiate. If it is too quiet in your office, hit the phone.

~~~Incentives... companies appear to be moving toward an RFP (Request for Proposal) concept for incentives. "Give us your best offer - everything you can do, tell us how it will impact our costs, tell us what we have to do to qualify, tell us about any conditions that apply, and clearly define any terms and conditions."  Kate McEnroe, site selection consultant, speaker at Virginia Economic Development Assoc.'s annual conference.

~~~Drives you NUTS!!!... when someone sends an e-mail that makes an article sound interesting with a web link and expects you to poke around the site long enough to find it. Doesn't work that way. Negative vibrations are probably not the way you want to be remembered. If you want to be a web marketer, provide enough specifics to allow even an idiot to get to the material you are referencing inside the web site.

~~~What’s in 26 states... and provinces, on the cutting edge as a business retention tool, is the ED focus of 5 major utilities, used by 3 state departments of commerce, and sometimes paid for by workforce development boards? SYNCHRONIST! An elegant solution to the problems of business retention. http://www.blanecanada.com/frameset_synchronist.html

~~~FYI... In case you missed it, there is a good Economic Development Directory, http://www.ecodevdirectory.com. This is a free directory of economic development websites worldwide. It provides information for companies and organizations considering expansion into new geographic areas. There is no charge for listings, unless you want a direct link. If your org is not listed, let them know.  Philip O'Keefe Co.

~~~You said what!... We truly appreciate the feedback you provide, in topics, successes, and plaudits. Here are a few recent ones:

"I look forward to receiving your newsletter and find something pertinent to current issues each time I read it." (OH)

"As you know... one good idea is enough to make a meeting or an article worthwhile.  Current issue of ED Marketing Letter (June) held five for me. Guess we'll both have to figure out what that makes you! Thanks for the insights!" (WI)

~~~Faith Popcorn... is a prominent futurist and trend analyst. Her company, BrainReserve, advises Fortune 500 clients about consumer trends. The interesting aspect of her work is how "on target" her trend analysis has been. "Clicking," "Atmosfear," "Future Tense," and "Icon Toppling" are her book titles, not sci-fi movies. In reading a Chicago Tribune interview with her, we were struck with trends she states are already underway. "Sparsely populated, remote areas will become the next boom towns." Her explanation is supported by the thinking, "Bin Laden wouldn't be interested in this place." Her trend analyses have been prophetic. Her books are worth your time. Chicago Tribune, 10/21/01

~~~Laser focus... In your next important planning meeting... write out the goals and post them on the wall along with a map of the service area to help keep the discussion focused. This will help set aside the extraneous.

~~~Hard drive... Many of us drag around a laptop, others prefer the desktop variety, and still others split their valuable work product, personal musings, e-mail jokes, and to-do list across two or more computers. Central to each is a hard drive. As our engineer associate is fond of saying, "The hard drive is vastly more reliable than floppies." Yet, nowhere is it written that they are infallible. Back-up your hard drive, "all of them," today! Set a schedule for future back-ups and stick to it. No excuses! John Lewis

~~~Regrets... The things we most regret (retrospectively) are "action not taken!" Seldom do people regret actions that work out badly. What action have you been postponing that may cause regret later? Get it on!

~~~Trend Spotting... We believe the secret of trend spotting is the ability to sense the trend from the earliest references. Once the majority has added their voice, the trend is mostly past.

~~~Best brochure... is the one printed directly off of your laser color printer. It never goes out of date, can be instantly customized, and you won't trip over the box of leftovers on your way out the door. In his book, “Being Digital," Nicholas Negroponte recommends thinking in terms of converting atoms (those boxes of materials) to digits (the laser printer). Think about it.

~~~Why... do we let competitors subscribe to ED Marketing Letter? We are happy to have the competition in a position of keeping up:-)

~~~Praise in another form!... A national public relations company heard enough about this newsletter that they called to get the inside scoop.  They, by the way, were hired by a state department of commerce and were checking out our newsletter against which to benchmark theirs. Thanks for the compliment! Once again, we're pleased to be setting the standard.

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