| “Dance with the Businesses that Brought You” |
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RELEASE DATE: April 29, 2009
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In this economy, perhaps it’s human nature to look over our partner’s shoulder to find someone new on the ballroom floor. You know, someone a little more stylish. More flashy. More dreamy.
And they’re always out there, those new businesses and industries. If we could only catch their eye, they might whirl us around the dance floor, ushering in hundreds of quality jobs and millions in tax-base.
Pure magic, to be sure, but that’s seldom the way good economic development works. It’s actually a marriage, an ever-deepening relationship based on commitment, compromise and communication.
In other words, we need to dance with the ones who brought us—those businesses that are the cornerstones of our current economy. Although the high-tech and green sectors show the promise of future growth (and federal stimulus), we also need to focus on keeping and strengthening what we have.
After all, business people know it’s easier and less expensive to retain a customer than to find a new one.
As you may have heard, your Initiative Foundation is focusing on economic growth and recovery. We’re working with our existing loan clients to make sure they have the best opportunity for success. We’re allowing extended grace periods for repayment. We’re providing planning and consulting services. And sure, we want to create new jobs, but not at the expense of the ones that are already here.
So, here’s the million-dollar question: When was the last time our communities asked local businesses what we could do to help them survive and grow? And when was the last time we shopped locally, even though the experience wasn’t quite as dreamy?
As the economic clock nears midnight, our collective answers to those questions may be the best indicator of when this recession will finally end.
-Kathy Gaalswyk
Initiative Foundation President
877-632-9255
kgaalswyk@ifound.org |
