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Boone EDC Weekly
Greetings from the Boone EDC,
Welcome to Boone EDC Weekly.
As an organization, the Boone EDC is constantly researching and benchmarking to learn what our competing communities are doing to attract and retain business. Boone EDC Weekly is a compilation of noteworthy National and Indiana news about economic development trends. We will also post information about upcoming conferences, events and webinars that you may find interesting.
Boone EDC Weekly is another tool that you can refer to as a community leader to help Boone County continue to move forward in a positive manner.
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What the Top States Have in Common
Area Development - Kathy Mussio
It comes as no surprise to those of us who work closely with corporate relocations and expansions that the states most often mentioned at the top of each of Area Development's 2012 Top States for Doing Business rankings share three attributes: each is relatively low cost, has a favorable business climate, and is right-to-work. These three factors continue to be important for many of the projects that our clients are undertaking. While it should be noted that crucial factors vary on a project-by-project basis, for the purpose of this short commentary, I chose to focus on those that have concerned many of our clients and projects in recent years: cost and overall business climate.
While there are exceptions, states with low business costs are more often considered and end up winning more projects than states with comparatively higher business costs. While not every state has the ability to address and fix its higher costs - due to lack of leadership and/or the political will - those that can tackle these often hot-button topics frequently reap positive, quantifiable results.
Indiana is a great example, as the pro-business policies attributable to its leadership under Governor Mitch Daniels led Indiana to become the 23rd right-to-work state. We have anecdotally heard about an increase in its pipeline for potential new projects, which makes sense considering that roughly 30 percent of projects eliminate non-right-to-work states as a location choice during their first screening.
Click here to learn more.
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USDA Loans Help Local Businesses Get Going
Herald & News - Samantha Tipler
Chris Hoss, of Klamath Falls, has worked in kitchens for most of his life. He attended culinary school. Now he has decided to start his own business - a food truck called Mac and Cheese Steak - but he needed a little help.
He found that help in the form of a $21,000 loan through the South Central Oregon Economic Development District and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development division. The funding came from a USDA loan given to SCOEDD's revolving loan program, which gave Hoss help in starting his business.
Vicki Walker, the Oregon director of the USDA's rural development department, visited Klamath County last month, where she met Hoss and visited the East Ridge Veterinary Clinic, another businesses that benefited from USDA loans. She wanted to learn how USDA funds contribute to businesses getting off the ground in Oregon.
Walker said loan programs offered by the USDA are meant to increase economic activities in the rural parts of Oregon. The department uses local organizations like SCOEDD to help find those who can use the funding and guidance the programs offer. It also monitors their progress as a business.
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Solutions Exist
Huffington Post - Shai Reshef
These days, the job crisis seems to be on the tips of everyone's tongues. Almost immediately, that conversation turns to the unprecedented unemployment rates of new degree holders, ultimately falling on the rise of student debt and the new generation of job seekers living with that debt for life.
In a climate in which 1 in 12 recent college graduates, 1 in 5 recent high school, and 1 in 3 college dropouts are unemployed (as reported by Georgetown University's Hard Times Report), we are faced with a question: How do we provide them with the skills necessary to qualify for the approximately 3.4 million available jobs? The numbers indicate that the only answer is more affordable higher education. Unfortunately, for a large segment of the population, it is either unattainable or altogether non-existent.
The economic landscape is in flux, with rapidly changing standards for qualification. Meanwhile, innovation in higher education has essentially remained stagnant. Prospective students are offered few options. As a result, we have a generation of teenagers making financial decisions that will dominate the rest of their lives, leaving them with decades of garnished wages and perpetual debt.
Click here to learn more.
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U.S. Economic Growth Shows Only Slight Improvement
Indianapolis Business Journal The U.S. Economy grew at a slightly faster 2-percent annual rate from July through September, according to preliminary estimates, buoyed by more spending by consumers and the federal government. Growth accelerated from the 1.3-percent rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. Even with the increase, growth remains too weak to rapidly boost hiring. Historically, from 1947 until 2012, the quarterly rate averaged 3.25 percent.
The incomplete report, which is subject to future revisions, is the last snapshot of the economy before Americans choose a president in 11 days.
Republican nominee Mitt Romney has criticized President Barack Obama's handling of the economy and has noted that the pace of growth has slowed from last year. The 1.74-percent annual growth rate for the first nine months of 2012 remains slightly behind last year's 1.8-percent growth.
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Toyota Advanced Manufacturing Program
The Agurban Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana, is offering a vocational program geared towards a career at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Princeton, Indiana. The Toyota Advanced Manufacturing Technician Program blends classroom instruction with on-site experience at the manufacturing plant. The two-year Associates Degree program combines cutting-edge curriculum, paid working experience, along with learning highly sought after business principles and best practices of a world-class manufacturer. The program prepares graduates to excel in the job market or pursue a four-year degree.
Students earn a wage while attending college and gain priceless work experience. Over the two years, students can earn as much as $30,000 in salary, which reduces the need for student loans and prepares the students for a successful career and life.
While not guaranteed, those graduates hired by Toyota have the potential to earn as much as $64,000 yearly, plus excellent benefits. Other manufacturers are also seeking professionals with this level of experience and training, plus graduates may pursue a Bachelor's Degree in fields such as engineering, technology, or business.
Learn more about the program by visiting here.
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Entrepreneur's Cafe
The Agurban
The Entrepreneurs' Café in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, is a program that provides micro-funding awards and business services to entrepreneurs that reside in the Eastern Panhandle of the state. The goal of the Entrepreneur's Café is "to encourage the development of an entrepreneurial class by creating a forum where they can build a sense of community; hone their sales skills; access resources; obtain ideas and guidance from others; and receive reinforcement for their ideas."
During the event, local entrepreneurs are invited to "pitch" their idea or project for funding. Attendees pay $10 for a meal, have the opportunity to hear small business development ideas and vote on their favorite project. The winning entrepreneur receives the proceeds from the purchase of meals and a special cash award provided by a different partner each month.
The Entrepreneurs' Café program is part of a long-term plan to develop the entrepreneurial climate in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.
Click here to learn more.
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Video Blog
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Meeting Dates
Boone County Commissioners: - November 5 @ 9 a.m. Boone County Council: - November 13 @ 8:30 a.m. Boone County APC: - November 7 @ 7 p.m. Boone County RDC: - November 16 @ 2 p.m. Advance Town Council: - November 12 @ 7 p.m. Jamestown Town Council: - November 6 @ 7 p.m. Lebanon City Council: - November 12 @ 7 p.m. Thorntown Town Council: - November 19 @ 7 p.m. Whitestown Town Council: - November 13 @ 6:30 p.m. Zionsville Town Council: - November 5 @ 7 p.m. Boone EDC Board of Directors: - November 15 @ 4 p.m. Boone EDC Executive Committee:
- November 8 @ 7:30 a.m.
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