July 21, 2025

183: Small-Scale Manufacturing as Community Development Strategy with Ilana Preuss

31 minutes

In this episode of the Econ Dev Show, host Dane Carlson welcomes back Ilana Preuss, founder and CEO of Recast City, for a follow-up conversation four years after her initial appearance on the show. Preuss shares insights on how economic development has evolved and discusses her methodology for helping communities identify and support small-scale manufacturing businesses. The conversation explores how economic developers can create meaningful change with relatively modest investments by focusing on local assets, engaging directly with community members and business owners, and implementing targeted strategies that respond to actual community needs rather than pursuing expensive business recruitment projects.

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Ten Actionable Takeaways for Economic Developers

Engage directly with small-scale manufacturing business owners to understand their specific needs and challenges before creating programs.

Focus on modest, targeted investments ($10K-$20K) rather than expensive business recruitment projects that may not address community needs.

Identify and leverage existing local assets and manufacturing businesses already present in your community.

Meet with property owners to understand real estate availability and constraints for small manufacturing businesses.

Analyze community feedback to prioritize actions that will create the biggest impact based on local goals and beneficiaries.

Create short-term wins that build momentum toward longer-term, more complex development projects.

Thread the line between community assets, needs, and goals to develop effective priority strategies.

Focus on de-risking economic development investments by ensuring projects respond to actual community needs.

Build "sticky" communities by creating places where interesting commercial activity takes place and people want to be.

Use systematic methods to gather information from stakeholders and translate that into actionable development strategies.

Special Guest: Ilana Preuss.