Discover Georgia, USA

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Discover Georgia, USA Discover Entrepreneur
Small Business
November 2009
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Great Business Environment

• 1st in workforce training
• 1st in fiscal policies
• 1st in entrepreneurship
• 3rd in business climate
• 4th most Fortune 500 company headquarters

• 5th best state for business
• 7th most pro-business
• 7th best cost of labor
• 7th best state for biotech industry

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Why is Georgia 1 in Entrepreneurship?

• GA experienced the greatest entrepreneurial
  activity over the last decade
• GA 590/100,000 adults created a business each
  month Metro Atlanta 740/100,000
• Reasons?
• 1) Start up capital
• 2) Overall economic growth
• 3) Entrepreneur Friendly
• 4) Increased entrepreneur
  education for youth

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Entrepreneurship in GA

• Direct Services to Companies
• Company Calls Capital
• Centers of Innovation Incubators
• Export Trade Education
• Interactive Tools RD Tax Credits
• Business-to-Business
• Supplier Match Mentor Protégé
• GA Made GA Grown Film/Entertainment
• Military
• Indirect Services Through Local Communities
• Entrepreneur Friendly
  Initiative
• Interactive Tools
• Associations

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Entrepreneurship in GA ESB
Coordinating Network state federal
resource providers

• Access to capital
• Entrepreneur education
• ESB resource awareness
• Who was doing what?
• How to reach out? Educate?
• Minority partnerships

• OneGA ESB Loan Guarantee
• Inventory database all schools
• Created new website
• Cross Training / Marketing
• 65/1 - Entrepreneur Friendly
• Dedicated staff

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Entrepreneurship in GA

• Small Business Call Program
• 0 19 employees / growth companies
• Connect to state federal resources
• Web optimization
• Statewide Economic Gardening
• Market research data / SBDC partner
• Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative
• Develop a local culture that supports
• entrepreneurs and small businesses
• Include ESB in local economic
• development strategic plan

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative
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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• HOW TO REACH ALL BUSINESSES TO CREATE RESOURSE
  AWARENESS THROUGHOUT THE STATE?
• Revamped existing Regional Program focus
• Department cant reach all businesses
• but smarter communities can
• Developed Entrepreneur Friendly
• Initiative
• - Year One
• visited 159 counties
• gauged need/desire for ESB development

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• What Resources???
• Whats out there? Where do I send them? Do I
  even know what I have here at home????
• You mean, ASK them??
• Do they even want it? Need it??

• Players
• faith-based
• medical
• minority
• education
• youth
• businesses
• military
• recreation/ag
• governments

RECOGNIZE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WHEN YOU SEE IT!
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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• What we found . . .
• Business education
• (1 marketing, 2 sales, 3 finance)
• Skilled workforce
• (1 work ethics, 2 soft skills
  professionalism)
• Resource awareness
• (why dont I know about them??? Just for me!)

• Surprises . . .
• Creative thinkers
• Not aware
• Shop at home promote us
• No time to take classes

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• As a result.
• 100 of EF communities have created an ESB
  Resource Guide and How to Start of Business Guide
  
• 100 have hosted at least one ESB Resource
  Fair/Expo

• 95 of the EF communities are providing small
  business educational workshops
• Five have created dedicated, comprehensive
  Resource Centers
• 25 developed new youth programs

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• As a result new partnerships
• Small Business Development Center (SBDC) created
  a Max Series of business education courses
  tools for all EFs
• OneGeorgia created a grant program to encourage
  sustainable ESB support efforts (after year two)
• Technical College System of GA enhanced
  certificate programs added more youth camps

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• More of what were seeing . . .

• Mentoring
• Comprehensive buy local
• Improved tracking
• New networking forums
• Improved business-to-government
• Improved licensing process / resources

• Increase in corporate local spend (top 25)
• Jr. Achievement finances, credit, ID theft
• Business courses w/med school classes
• Inventors network
• Social networking / new media
• Young entrepreneur networks

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• 90 of what entrepreneurs learn,
• they learn from _______ ???
• _______ of 9th graders want to
• start their own business
• by 12th grade, ________ still want to.

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• What we are seeing with our youth . . .
• C students / At Risk / Alternative Schools
• E Camps at middle high schools
• Youth business plans
• K-12 entrepreneurial product development
• Youth enterprises at First Fridays
• GeorgiaREAL

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• School Community . . .
• Identify gaps - tell schools whats needed
• - encourages ideas
• - make it happen at home
• - recession inventions
• Youth leadership
• - entrepreneur / business project
• Youth enterprises at community events
• - themed / festivals / expos
• Business plan competition
• - real life wants wishes

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• 81 of Georgia designated Entrepreneur Friendly
• 129 out of 159 counties

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• Entrepreneur Friendly continues
• Overall economic development strategies
• Value-add Identifies innovation/creativity
  addresses challenges
• Facilitated strategic planning puts words to
  action

brainstorming re-energizing new
direction new leadership new economy new ideas
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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• EFII includes continuous post-designation
  support
• Professional development (2x year)
• Entrepreneur Summit (Governor, Network)
• Trade missions, marketing events

• EFIF grant projects
• Best practices marketing information sharing
• Speaking engagements
• Hot off the Press news, resources, business
  opportunities

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Georgias Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative

• Foster an entrepreneurial culture
• and non-traditional thinking
• Are my ESB programs going to support my
  entrepreneur small businesses long term?
• Do I really know where to send someone? Do they
  even know we have resources?
• If the state wasnt involved, would I do this
  anyway?

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Georgia Department of Economic Development

• Nobody talks of entrepreneurship as
• survival , but that's exactly what it is
• and what nurtures creative thinking!
• . . . Anita Roddick
• All people are entrepreneurs, but many don't
  have the opportunity to find that out. .
  . . Muhammad Yunus
• Thank you!!
• Mary Ellen McClanahan
• Director, Community External
  Alliances
• Georgia Department of Economic Development
• 404.962.4820 memcclanahan_at_georgia.org
  
  www.georgia.org/smallbusiness