Finding the right balance

By Ed Morrison

Building a strong economic base requires a balanced approach. Recruiting companies is not enough. Starting new companies is not enough. Building a creative place is not enough. Educating people is not enough. “Creative people” are not enough.

We need all of these components (and a few more) in dynamic balance.
…
EDPros need the skills and abilities to see their regional economies as integrated systems, not simply a string of projects.

Simple-minded “stove pipe” thinking — “economic development” is different than “workforce development ” is different than “community development” — perpetuates our fragmented views os the world and distorts our ability to identify opportunities. (They are all around us, even in “depressed” economies.)

Opportunites lie in the connections. And it is the new job of EDPros to design and make these connections. Weave networks.

[small biz] [rural] [entrepreneurs] [Ed Morrison] [economic development]

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About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.