Taking Care of Business:

1
Taking Care of Business

• Organizing for Business and Industry
  Retention-Expansion

2
Stillwater Chamber of Commerce

• John D. Fowler, CCE
• President CEO
• 405-372-5573
• jfowler_at_stillwaterchamber.org

3
Retention-expansion programs

• Most new jobs come from companies already located
  in your area
• BRE is the first--and most important--step in
  community economic development
• A continuous process to monitor business
  conditions
• Identify problems and opportunities

4
Why is it important?

• Other locations want YOUR employers
• Provides an early warning system when issues
  arise
• Links employers with key resources
• Identifies strengths and weaknesses
• A mechanism for problem-solving
• Identifies firms in expansion mode
• Answers, Do you love me?

5
Whos our target?

• Select one or more focus areas
• -Primary employers (manufacturing, distribution,
  technology, etc.)
• -Other key segments (health care, retail?)
• -Within an industry cluster youre trying to
  grow
• -At-risk companies (older plants, new owners,
  change in management, etc.)
• -The entire universe?

6
Who should be involved

• Business leaders
• Economic development officials
• Education and training organizations
• Local government officials
• Note emphasis on issue identification and
  problem-solving, not PR

7
The Team Stillwater approach

• Develop the questionnaire tracking system
• Select and training the team
• Establish a schedule
• Assignments accountability
• Make appointments for company visits
• Conduct interviews
• Discuss/refer/assign responsibility
• Feedback to company and team

8
The company interview

• Make appointment to visit the CEO, plant manager,
  or top local official
• Represent the team, not your company
• Information is confidential
• Follow the questionnaire, BUT
• Ask questions that go a little deeper
• Dont overstay your welcome
• Make additional notes

9
Follow up is vital

• Each issue is assigned to one or more team
  members
• Each issue warrants a response
• As problems are resolved, report back to the Team
  and to the company
• As expansion opportunities are identified, ED
  staff follows up
• Interview responses and follow-up actions are
  recorded
• If no specific actions, company is contacted 12
  months later for update and re-interview

10
Important to remember

• Business and government involvement and
  ownership is important
• Most issues are local and can be resolved
• Team selection and training are keys to success
• Team approach ensures accountability
• Implement management/tracking systems
• Consistency brings results