Economic Gardening: no shovel required

Joan C. DivorBusiness Services LibrarianBurlington County Library System

WHAT IS IT?

• Embraces strategies to “grow from within”

• Involves collaboration among agencies and organizations that serve business

• Focuses on established companies with high growth potential

• Job creation initiative

BENEFIT: HELP LOCAL COMPANIES GROW

• Information/Research

• Infrastructure

• Connections

BENEFIT: HELP LOCAL COMPANIES GROW

Information/Research: Competitive intelligence on customers, competitors, and markets….such as:

• targeted mailing lists

• GIS-based plotting of retail competitor locations

• market and demographic data

• industry trend reports (pharmaceutical analysis company)

…more on this in a couple of minutes

BENEFIT: HELP LOCAL COMPANIES GROW

Infrastructure

• Physical (roads, bridges, space, zoning, light rail)

• Intellectual (WIB, Incubator, BCC)

• Quality of life (cultural, recreational, preservation, beautification, open space)

BENEFIT: HELP LOCAL COMPANIES GROW

Connections

• Peer to peer learning: CEO to CEO

• Recognition opportunities: publications, events (Chamber of Commerce)

• Links to trade associations, think tanks, academic institutions, and other similar companies (industry clusters)

POWERFUL PAYOFFS

• BUSINESS: Revenue - Increased demand for company’s products and services, which stimulates…

• EMPLOYMENT: …job creation

• COMMUNITY: economic growth / tax revenue, etc.

POWERFUL PAYOFFS

Pioneered in Littleton, Colorado in 1989. Results since then…• 71 percent increase in employment

• tripling of sales tax revenues (not adjusted for inflation).

POWERFUL PAYOFFS

• GrowFL Economic Gardening (2009 – 2011) statewide:

• 3,285 direct & indirect local jobs

• $510.4 million (direct & indirect) to local economy

• $267.4 million on State’s GDP

• $18.17 million in local and state tax revenue

173 participating company respondents reported a total 898 net jobs created – an average of 5.2 net new jobs per company.

POWERFUL PAYOFFS

For business serving organizations

• Greater trust & value.

• Increased synergy & effectiveness.

• Identifying new clients or working with them at an earlier stage.

POWERFUL PAYOFFS

• “Local businesses tend to have greater commitment to their regions than companies with out-of-state headquarters — and the most impact on sustainable job creation,” points out Mark Lange, Executive Director of the Edward Lowe Foundation. “If they grow, the whole community benefits.”

BUSINESS SERVING ORGANIZATIONS

Natural Partners• Rutgers Camden SBDC & Rutgers

University

• Burlington County Bridge Commission Econ Dev & Regional Planning Dept.

• Burlington County Library System

• …more

BURLINGTON COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM

A Natural Partner –

• CHALLENGE: To help them be successful, business owners & executives need good information—about markets, customers, industry, and competitors.

BURLINGTON COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM

A Natural Partner - • SOLUTION: Libraries have trained information

providers and can access and provide you with access to:

• Research tools and resources

• Business research databases

• Research expertise of librarians for projects

Examples: Contract research outsourcing (pharma); growth & competition in gluten-free food market; listings of women-owned businesses

Leveraging the resources of other partners

BURLINGTON COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM

Examples of other library systems:

• Douglas County (CO) Libraries

• Lancaster (PA) Libraries

BURLINGTON COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM

Connections:

• The benefits of peer to peer learning

• Peerspectives Roundtables – Edward Lowe Foundation

• Unique, powerful model

• I am a trained facilitator

SUMMARY

• Pilot Eonomic Gardening strategies to provide unique services to help growth oriented companies in Burlington County:

• Benefits – Helping local companies grow:

• Information

• Infrastructure

• Connections

• Payoffs

• BUSINESS

• EMPLOYMENT

• COMMUNITY

• Partnering for synergy

NEXT STEPS

• Steering committee

• Defining priorities & parameters

• Pilot program – start small

• Identify potential target companies (how?)

• Invite them to participate

CALL TO ACTION

SIGN-UP SHEET

THANKS FOR COMING!

Joan C. Divor Business Services Librarian

Burlington County Library System

bcls.lib.nj.us/business-gateway

jdivor@bcls.lib.nj.us

609-267-9660 ext. 3018