Economic Development - A Team Sport

When our Director of Marketing and Communications asked me to start writing a monthly blog about economic development, my first reaction was panic…what am I going to write about? By definition, economic development is the creation of wealth in a community historically measured through the creation of new jobs and/or increased capital investment. It is a broad field; it includes everything from industrial recruitment to small business support to quality of place. Who wants to start a business where no one wants to live, right? So, narrowing it down to one topic should be difficult, but when I thought about what really makes us thrive as an economic development organization the answer was clear…it is our team.

Economic development truly is a team sport. So, who is on the Alliance team? It is our local partners at the counties, towns, and city. It is our partners at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Small Business Development Center, the Central Virginia Workforce Development Board, the colleges and universities, and many more. It truly takes the entire team to make sure businesses have the support they need whether they are already located in the region, or if they are looking to call our region home. Expansion projects are just as competitive as new projects, and just because a company already has an established location in a community, it does not mean they will absolutely choose that area to continue to grow. Having (or not having) a good business support team in place can make or break these deals.

A great example of this teamwork is our regional business, retention, and expansion program. This program was developed as part of our region’s comprehensive economic development strategy in 2017. While the recruitment of new business is important for increased prosperity, the fact is 85% of new jobs and investment in your community is created by existing companies. These companies are already rooted in your community and often are providing support to nonprofits, community organizations, and schools. So, we made it a priority to create a program that focuses on ensuring existing businesses have what they need to succeed and grow. On the visits, we bring representation from the local, regional, and state offices so we can ensure all resources are available. And because business owners are busy running their companies, we can cover the same topics in one meeting versus three.  

If your company is interested in hosting a business visit, I would encourage you to reach out to me. We have resources that can help your business at multiple levels. Collaboration is key in economic development. It creates a seamless process for business, and we are fortunate in our region to have one of the best teams in the game. I’m excited for the opportunity to continue these blogs and look forward to next month’s topic, “How Our Region Competes Globally”.

The Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance’s economic development efforts are supported by the counties of Amherst, Bedford, and Campbell; the towns of Altavista, Amherst, and Appomattox; and the City of Lynchburg, as well as 65 private sector business investors.