Workforce competency and availability continues to be an important issue in the Cape/Jackson metro as well as most of the United States. Many independent research reports tell us at least 50%, and as many as 65% of new jobs over the next five years will require something less than a four year degree. The strongest job growth is projected in the healthcare, construction, and personal care fields. These are generally well-paid, benefit rich employment opportunities. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had

Site selection professionals are important players in the economic development world. Many business expansion and relocation projects are led by individuals and teams from the site selection profession. They are charged with finding the best location for a project based on a detailed set of criteria provided by their client. That process includes analyzing data and demographics, determining unique characteristics of a given area, evaluating incentives, and onsite visits. Helping this talented

The President of the United States has issued a proclamation annually for more than 50 years announcing this…. Of course I’m talking about National Small Business Week. We just finished celebrating this yearly occurrence designed to recognize the contributions of small business owners and entrepreneurs. According to the Small Business Administration, more than 50% of Americans either work for or own a small business. And small businesses and start-ups create two out of every three new jobs each

The last weekend in April was something special and hopefully just a preview of many more to come. The Cape/Jackson metro was really humming all weekend and the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department was at the center of it all. In case you didn’t notice, let me tell what happened. The Cape Girardeau SportPlex hosted the Reebok Series Midwest Super Showcase Basketball Tournament. At this full two-day event, 65 teams from Missouri and several surrounding states competed on the courts and

Do you celebrate enough? At the Chamber, we are involved in so many things related to economic development and community betterment. Like many of you, we stay busy and both time and significant events can pass us by if we aren’t careful. So, we make sure we celebrate as often as possible. Inc. Magazine tells us celebrating is very critical to success – even suggesting if you don’t celebrate, you are likely to burn out. Celebrating changes your physiology and psychology, strengthens your network,

According to Zig Ziglar, “The only thing worse than training employees and losing them is not training them and keeping them.” Professional development is an important ongoing part of business success. It should permeate all levels of organizations large and small. And while most employers would agree with the importance, many have come up short with sustained implementation. Let’s look at this from two perspectives; employer and employee. As an employer, it is your responsibility to provide

A strong, local economy is dependent upon successful businesses and organizations providing employment. We spoke last week about job creation and focused mainly on business recruitment and start-ups. Today, I want to go a little deeper into an important effort used by all successful economic development programs – business retention and expansion or BRE. BRE is the intentional focus on connecting with existing businesses to define, understand, and respond to their needs. It involves gathering

There are several pieces of a strong economic development program, but job creation is the one I get asked about most frequently. Measuring economic development efforts is difficult. Economic development is defined as the increase in capital flow to an area. So, higher wages, capital investment, tourism dollars and new jobs are all important. Let’s take a look at how we try to help job creation. First and foremost, we work with our existing business base to help them be more successful. In our

This plays an important part in virtually every aspect of our lives. Of course, I’m talking about the information technology sector, or IT. The IT sector is made up of companies producing software, hardware or semiconductor equipment, and companies providing internet or related services. According to numerous sources, these related companies are leading the economic growth we currently experience. Think about your daily life. How important is your computer, your handheld smart device, and the

There are many things that make a business successful or unsuccessful. But this is arguably the most important factor. Study after study has shown strong leadership can help take a successful business to the next level and help a struggling business get back on track. Unfortunately, poor leadership has the exact opposite effect. The impact of leadership on business success is direct and measurable. According to aboutleaders.com, effective leadership allows an organization to achieve goals, act