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Inner City Exchange
ICIC's daily blog featuring opinions and commentary from leaders and practitioners in the field on all things related to cities and urban businesses.
Finding Demand, Rapid Growth and then: Selling
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There’s no denying it: rapid business growth is great for companies that can accommodate increased sales. It leads to new job creation and an influx of dollars in to the local economy.
At the same time, it raises eyebrows of competitors who may seek to acquire the fast growing business before it hinders the growth of their own company.
This is exactly what happened to 2011 Inner City 100 winner Salar, Inc.
Salar, based out of Baltimore, provides electronic filing services for the health care industry. They integrate information and documentation systems for doctors and hospitals, enabling health care providers to move from paper-driven processes to electronic data tracking and storage.
CEO Todd Johnson and his co-founder, Meir Gottlieb started Salar right after graduating from Cornell. The two opted to start their own company rather than trying to work for someone else. They graduated at the height of the dot-com boom, making an internet start-up a wise decision. Initially, they offered a software development service that attracted a few health care service clients. As a result, they began to develop a keen understanding of the digital serviced in high demand by health care customers.
BY Alex Rodriguez on February 21st, 2012
TAGS: small business | business | entrepreneur | ic100 | acquisition | baltimore | health care
Food Trucks: Another weapon in the food cluster arsenal
(avg: 4.67 of 5)
Move over urban gardens. It’s food truck time.
The latest rage sweeping our cities is the food truck movement. In formerly barren neighborhoods, food trucks are popping up left and right. In downtowns and in neighborhood squares, these trucks serve quick, convenient food for passersby.
So what’s behind the movement?
In some cities, the cost of doing business has grown so high that it prevents new companies from entering the market. By some estimates, it costs an average of $275,000 to open a new restaurant; a food truck can cost as little as $10,000 to get up and running. Given the tight credit market over the past few years, it takes more up-front capital to start new businesses. This makes the food truck market easier to enter than the traditional restaurant business.
Once in operation, the food trucks are a way to introduce consumers to new foods. From vegetarian-only vendors to Thai-food vendors, the trucks draw people from the traditional fast food joints they might otherwise frequent during lunch. As food truck licenses increase, new options abound. Food trucks serve (pun intended) as vehicles for cultural dissemination.
BY Amanda Maher on February 20th, 2012
TAGS: food | cluster | economic development | jobs | small business | cities | retail
Key Terms to Help Get You Through Your Next Negotiation
To help you avoid having to breathe fire as in the cartoon above, I’ve compiled a list below of a few key terms that will give you a leg up when you engage your next negotiation. Whether you’re trying to buy a new car, find middle ground on wages with a labor union, or settle on a cost structure for procurement contracts, being a good negotiator is an invaluable skill to have in your professional repertoire. As President Obama recently found during the debt ceiling debate, negotiating skill can be the difference between success and default.
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Anchor: Anchors are reference points around which negotiations evolve. As this working paper by Professor Adam Galinsky of Northwestern University recommends, negotiators should anchor aggressively and make the first offer in most circumstances. Why do anchors work so well even among educated negotiators?
“The answer lies in the fact that every item under negotiation (whether it's a company or a car) has both positive and negative qualities—qualities that suggest a higher price and qualities that suggest a lower price. High anchorsselectively direct our attention toward an item's positive attributes; low anchors direct our attention to its flaws.”
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Frame: Make sure you “frame” the context of the debate in a positive perspective. The excerpt below from “Negotiation Strategy: 6 Common Pitfalls to Avoid” profiles research by prominent Stanford Business School professors and provides a telling comparison of how framing makes a difference in an argument.
“For example, you are a purchasing manager renegotiating an hourly wage contract with a subcontractor. The subcontractor currently makes $10 an hour. You are willing to elevate the subcontracting firm to $11 an hour. Another organization recently boosted its rate with your subcontractor to $12 an hour. You know that when the negotiators for your subcontractor hear your $11 offer, they may think they are going to have to give up a dollar an hour.
You must get them to focus on the point you are starting from — $10, not $12. You frame the issue positively by talking about all the ways your contract is different from the others. Your contract has some advantages outside of the hourly pay. The other side will be more willing to risk lower wages for the purported other benefits. A common mistake is negotiating from a negative frame: "The other firm's deal offers more, but we can afford only $11.”
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on February 17th, 2012
TAGS: small business | negotiation | executive education | business | entrepreneur | ic100
The Future of Community Banking, and What it Means for Small Businesses
(avg: 3.75 of 5)
Above: Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke Addresses FDIC Conference this morning
Year in and year out, we honor the 100 fastest growing inner city companies. Part of the year-long process in finding and awarding these firms includes both quantitative and qualitative surveys and interviews of the CEOs. Through this process, we learn about how inner city companies come to fruition, what some of their business challenges are, and how CEOs finance their companies.
This year, like each year in the past, we are coming across a trend: overwhelmingly, most inner city companies view access to capital as one of their most prohibitive obstacles to growth. Yet, these companies are still growing and finding success.
How?
One thing the CEOs have attributed their growth to is their strong relationships with their bankers. In one of my most recent interviews, the CEO explained that he and his banker go out to lunch once a month just to chat, to address the needs of the CEOs business. Another CEO said he is a customer at a large bank that doesn’t understand his needs, and therefore, is shopping around to smaller competitors.
BY Amanda Maher on February 16th, 2012
TAGS: small business | jobs | business | entrepreneur | capital | federal policy | banking | fdic
How Cities and Businesses Can Grow Together
(avg: 4.00 of 5)
Article by ICIC's Steven Pedigo, originally published on Inc.com
Location, location, location! We’ve all heard that, for many small businesses, one of the keys to success lies in landing the right real estate. But the reverse is also true: Small businesses are essential drivers of America’s cities, and your company and others like it have the capacity to make your city a prime location, location, location!
As businesses invest in their community, the community grows and becomes healthier. Businesses then reap the benefits of being part of a thriving community. This principle of shared value – creating economic value while also creating value for society – lies at the very heart of economic success.
Here are five ways your business can increase its competitiveness by helping to re-energize your city.
BY Steven Pedigo on February 14th, 2012
TAGS: cities | small business | entrepreneur | jobs | business | clusters | workforce | real estate
IC100 Companies: Innergizing Their Cities
(avg: 4.00 of 5)
We know that small businesses drive inner city economic growth. From mom and pop shops, to manufacturing firms, inner city companies employ local residents, invest in community programs, and add value to their neighborhoods. This is why ICIC has been honoring the fastest growing inner city firms for the past 13 years.
And we’re at it again!
After months of outreach and applicant review, we have identified the 100 fastest growing inner city companies. The 14th Annual Inner City 100 list will be published in Fortune magazine this spring. The list is comprised of 59 new firms in an array of industries: ranging from organic food manufacturing and distribution, online pet moving services to a NYC-based microbrewery. The diversity of companies is matched by diversity in location—this year’s list includes businesses from every corner of the United States. Through sound business practices, every member of the 2012 Inner City 100 grew at rates that defied national trends.
The award allows Inner City 100 winners to take part in a full day of management education at Harvard Business School, with presentations by Boston University and Babson College, among others. The final unveiling of the list will occur on May 9, 2012 at the Inner City 100 Symposium and Awards dinner. For the first year in the program’s history, you will be able to join this dynamic group at a discounted rate: To find out more about the event, access our agenda and register today.
In the meantime, we wanted to provide a glimpse of some of our Inner City 100 winners...
BY Alex Rodriguez on February 13th, 2012
TAGS: ic100 | jobs | cities | small business | business
Hiring a Non-Traditional Workforce
(avg: 4.75 of 5)
We’ve all heard the stories: one mistake can ruin your life if you wind up with a criminal record. From misdemeanors like possession of marijuana, to more serious crimes like assault and battery, those who err may not just end up in prison, but they will forever have to check off the “offender” box on job applications, all but guaranteeing their application is bypassed.
In Baltimore, the incarceration rate has become profound. When released, failure to become gainfully employed often leads these ex-offenders back to a life of crime.
Johns Hopkins Medical (JHM) took note of this phenomenon: each year, there are as many ex-offenders released from Maryland’s prisons as are the number of people employed at the entire Johns Hopkins medical complex in East Baltimore. If JHM could find a way to reintegrate these people back in to society though meaningful employment at the anchor institution, it would certainly help reduce the rates of recidivism.
BY Amanda Maher on February 10th, 2012
TAGS: johns hopkins | baltimore | workforce | shared value | anchors | community development
Addressing Small Business Needs in Targeted Cities
Over the past two days, Living Cities’ Integration Initiative has been in Washington, D.C. presenting the findings of its Small Business Framing paper. By way of background, The Integration Initiative (TII) is working in five distressed cities to help them “harness existing momentum and leadership for change, overhauling long obsolete systems and fundamentally reshaping their communities and policies to meet the needs of low income residents.”
To do so, they have a keen eye on small business development. In a recent blog entry, John Moon, Assistant Director of Capital Formation in Living Cities, identifies the key findings of the small business framing paper. Specifically, they find that small businesses are so diverse that a "one size fits all" approach to addressing their needs is not sufficient.
Small Business: One Size Does Not Fit All
By: John Moon
As the country and policy makers focus on job creation and economic revitalization, they eventually look to small businesses. There are strong reasons to do so. Almost 99% of all US firms are small businesses (defined by the Small Business Administration as firms with fewer than 500 employees); they contribute 50% of the US GDP and are the source of most new job creation. Besides creating jobs, small businesses also help build the local tax-base, create and contribute to a sense of place, and provide an important source of wealth creation. Hence, if you want to address unemployment and improve economic vitality, strategies that support small businesses must be considered.
BY Guest Blogger on February 8th, 2012
TAGS: cities | business | jobs | entrepreneur | detroit | baltimore | newark | twin cities | cleveland | living cities | the integration initiative | capital
How Columbia University Partners with NYC to Support Local and Diverse Small Business
(avg: 3.80 of 5)
Columbia University provides a leading example of how an anchor institution can make its purchasing dollars more accessible to local small businesses. Working with local construction enterprises strengthens the university's ties with the local West Harlem community. It also expands and diversifies the pool of qualified vendors, which provide speedy, nimble, and reliable service. La-Verna Fountain, Associate Vice President, Construction Business Services and Communications of Columbia University explains how the institution's local purchasing efforts took shape and articulates several key lessons for aspiring anchor institutions.
Public-Private Partnerships: Making Things Work
By: La-Verna Fountain
Sometime in early 2008, the Executive Vice President for Columbia University’s Facilities Department, Joe Ienuso and the Commissioner for New York City’s Small Business Services, Rob Walsh met to discuss the possibility of Columbia University and Small Business Services joining together to address a common challenge. Joe wanted to increase the amount of construction dollars spent with minority, women and locally-owned (MWL) businesses. Commissioner Walsh wanted to increase the amount of city contracts awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses operating in the City.
The challenge facing both the City and Columbia was the fact that they were large, bureaucratic institutions. In the nation’s largest city, too few minority and women owned businesses are equipped to handle the administrative and financial complexities of large institutions to compete with majority-owned construction trade firms.
BY Guest Blogger on February 7th, 2012
TAGS: anchors | shared value | nyc | public-private partnerships | columbia university | chre | workforce | industrial | ask the expert | mwbes
Economic & Social Inclusion: Day 3 at New Partners for Smart Growth
(avg: 5.00 of 5)
Seattle sees its music scene as part of its city’s economic development and appeal. Pictured here: Slimpickins, busking at Pike Place Market.
By: Alex Abboud
The third and final day of the conference featured two plenary sessions (the first and last ones during the day) and two breakouts. The themes of the sessions I attended focused on diversity, social, and economic inclusion.
The Great Reset: Reshaping Our Economic and Physical Landscape to Meet New Needs
This session, featuring senior civic leaders, discussed the changing landscape, and the urgency to develop communities that meet the demands of consumers.
Kim Walesh, Director of Economic Development for San Jose, spoke to the demographic changes, and how this affects the market. She noted that development has targeted the 35-54 age group, but demographics are shifting to seniors, as Baby Boomers enter that demographic in large numbers, and young professionals, as Millennials come of age. They both want a more urban environment. Baby boomers want to be able to walk to restaurants/shops and medical appointments. Millennials have what she described as a “live first/work second” outlook, meaning they’ll choose a community/city where they’ll want to live first, then look for work second. She also noted that this group is 33% more likely than other demographics to want to live within 3 miles of a Central Business District.
Speaking anecdotally as a Millennial (and child of baby boomers), Walesh’s argument resonates with everything I see and hear amongst both my and my parents’ respective cohorts.
On the inclusion theme, Walesh made a powerful argument for the value of immigration, pointing out that 50% of CEOs of Silicon Valley tech companies are foreign-born, and 40% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or second-generation Americans.
BY Guest Blogger on February 6th, 2012
TAGS: economic development | community development | housing | retail | san jose | seattle | twin cities | cincinnati | cities | equity | new urbanism | npsg | conference
Sustainability, Walkability & New Urbanism: Recap of New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, Day 2
(avg: 4.00 of 5)
By: Alex Abboud
Following on my post from the first day of New Partners for Smart Growth, here is a quick recap of Friday’s sessions:
Building a Powerful Regional Equity Coalition to Deliver on Sustainable Communities
Building on what I noted in the East Baltimore project, three organizations spoke about how they’re ensuring smart growth and redevelopment is inclusive of all residents, particularly marginalized communities. Urban Habitat, out of San Francisco, has developed a Board and Commission Leadership Institute, where they prepare and encourage members of marginalized communities to participate in civic boards and commissions. They’ve gone, in the words of CEO Allen Fernandez-Smith, from “the goal of influencing decision-makers to the goal of being the decision-makers”. San Francisco is also leading the way with a Local Hire Policy for public works, including a provision for employing residents from disadvantaged communities.
Farmers’ Market
For lunch we went to the Farmers’ Market at Cancer Survivors’ Park, adjacent to the conference hotel. California is leading the way with more than 700 farmers’ markets across the state, and this ties in well with San Diego’s thriving local food culture I noted in the Thursday recap.
BY Guest Blogger on February 5th, 2012
TAGS: cities | economic development | food | transit | workforce | smart growth | new urbanism | npsg | conference
New Partners for Smart Growth - Takeaways from Day One
(avg: 4.50 of 5)
By: Alex Abboud
I’m at the New Partners for Smart Growth conference in San Diego, which started Thursday and ends today. When I have more time following the conference, I plan to write more in-depth on what I learned, but my writing on the conference will begin with a quick recap of each day. Here is a brief overview of what I attended on Thursday. You can read full descriptions of the sessions here:
Restoring Prosperity in America’s Legacy Cities
Feeding my current Rust Belt obsession, I attended this session to learn what former industrial centers are doing to ‘right-size’ and adapt.
In East Baltimore, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has been involved in facilitating redevelopment that is sensitive to the existing residents. With Johns Hopkins University expanding, the Foundation played a key role in ensuring residents were included, and benefited (such as having priority to send their kids to the new school, and economic inclusion agreements for redevelopment work). Where relocation happened, due to eliminating unsuitable housing, support was providing for tenants to relocate. One of the dangers of revitalization/gentrification, a theme that has come up a lot this conference, is that it will exclude and displace residents in an area. Revitalization that is inclusive of all community members will deliver more value to both residents and the city/region as a whole.
BY Guest Blogger on February 4th, 2012
TAGS: housing | economic development | community development | ebdi | baltimore | food | cities | npsg | conference
How two vastly different cities can leverage food cluster
(avg: 4.20 of 5)
There’s an undeniable trend towards Americans seeking healthy, locally grown food. Oftentimes, this is what people understand to be the growing “food movement.” But what people may not realize is that the food cluster encompasses so much more than that: retail and consumption is only the very last end of the supply chain.
At last night’s Open Classroom Series at Northeastern University’s Policy School, ICIC’s Director of Research Teresa Lynch and NextStreet’s Adina Astor gave a presentation that compares Boston and Detroit: how each city has opportunities to leverage its food cluster to create urban jobs.
The researchers broke down some key characteristics of each city as they matter to the food cluster:
BY Amanda Maher on February 2nd, 2012
TAGS: detroit | boston | jobs | businesses | economic development | manufacturing | retail | industrial | food | clusters
Angel Funding Helped this Small-Business Owner Improve the World through Chocolate
(avg: 4.00 of 5)
Sarah Endline grew up in a small farming township of 500. Somewhere along the way dreamed of building her own mission-based business. After years of contemplation, she founded Sweetriot, a small company based in New York City who’s aiming to improve the world through chocolate.
Sweetriot produces tiny nibs of cacao bean covered in dark chocolate and packaged in tins decorated with images from emerging artists. The eco-friendly treats, which satisfy a demand for purer free-trade foods, have been stocked in retail chains including Whole Foods, Wegmans and Zingerman’s. The company has experienced rapid growth in both revenues and product locations since its 2005 founding.
To help the company expand, Sarah sought angel funding as a compatible source of capital. As we learned from last week’s CEO Series Webinar, individual angels or angel groups can serve as valuable financial partners for high-growth businesses seeking below to $2 million in investment. To date, Sarah has successfully secured over $300,000 in angel funding. Below she provides tips to other small-business owners seeking or considering angel financing.
Angels come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There are four tips I can pass on to fellow entrepreneurs:
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Angels are individuals
Although they appear as groups, angels often they make individual decisions. It is important to get to know them on an individual basis. Even if a group says no, there are entrepreneurs that sometimes raise from individuals alone.
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Angels are regional
Most angel groups say they will look at deals from any region, but if you study their track record they focused on companies they can visit and interact with on a local basis. There are a few exceptions to this but not often.
BY Guest Blogger on January 31st, 2012
TAGS: ceo series | ask the expert | small business | entrepreneur | capital | nyc | angel investment
The Immigrant Artist Who Helped Build Urban Business Success
(avg: 3.00 of 5)
We’ve all heard stories of immigrants moving to the U.S. to find better lives: America is a land of promise, a land of opportunity. These immigrants are a vital force for inner city economies. Businesses on the Inner City 100 list have created roughly 70,000 jobs and employ nearly 100,000 people—40% of which are inner city residents. Many of these business owners open Mom and Pop shops, but others wind up transforming existing businesses.
This is the case with Luc Brami, Principal of Gelberg Signs in Washington, D.C.
Luc Brami’s father came to America from North Africa in 1959. An impressionist painter by trade, he only had $25 in his pocket when he immigrated. He had trouble selling his wares when he first arrived in the U.S., so he went to work for Gelberg doing hand-letter paining for his sign company. He eventually transitioned in to creating logos—including the well-known Marriott logo. Before long, he was Gelberg’s right-hand man.
BY Alex Rodriguez on January 30th, 2012
TAGS: small business | jobs | business | ic100
Tips from an Angel
(avg: 5.00 of 5)
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first CEO Series webinar of 2012! We were lucky to have Peggy Wallace, Managing Director of Golden Seeds to present “What are Angel Investors Looking for?” The Golden Seeds angel group offers funds to early and growth-stage companies, with a preference for firms headed by women.
Peggy was one of the first investors to join Golden Seeds in 2005 and has since invested in a diverse portfolio of 30 companies. During the webinar, Peggy shared her investor’s perspective to small-business owners who are currently seeking or considering seeking angel investment. Peggy outlined the current angel market and gave tips to entrepreneurs on pitching for investment. Below are a few of the tips and takeaways that stood out to us:
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Angel investors look for companies that have a high-growth trajectory and are scalable. Most often angel groups invest in companies in the technology, life sciences and medical industries.
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The Angel market is a big market – comparable to the venture capital market – both about $20 billion annual investment.
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Angels actually invest in MORE companies than venture capitalists (about 50,000 deals annually) but invest at a lower level. An average angel investment is around $700,000, where an average initial venture capital investment is $5,000,000.
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Acquiring angel investment is usually a 138 day process from when you first apply to when you close. Make sure you build that timeline into your business plan.
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Angels look for a talented management team. If your company is not yet at the stage of having a team, there should be a plan in place to hire. Typically, a portion of an angel investment is put towards hiring.
BY Mary Duggan on January 27th, 2012
TAGS: small business | entrepreneur | capital | ceo series | ask the expert | angel investment
Gambling on Urban Real Estate in 2012? Here are some places to do it
Above: City of Pittsburgh courtesy of Jan Tyler/Getty Images
Pittsburgh, Worcester, Houston, Akron and New Orleans. Five cities that appear very different on the face of things. Some are post-industrial cities trying to position themselves for a comeback. Houston is a post-WWII city based on energy and built via sprawl. And New Orleans—well, we know the challenges New Orleans has faced since Hurricane Katrina.
So what do these five very geographically diverse cities have in common?
According to the forecasting firm Local Market Monitor and as reported by MSN online, these are the five most promising cities for real estate in 2012. A bit of the rationale:
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Pittsburgh: Colleges, hospitals and the health-care industry have helped the city avoid the major job declines faced by other cities during the recession.
- Worcester: High-tech job growth throughout the Boston region has made outer-ring cities an attractive, more affordable alternative to Boston.
BY Amanda Maher on January 24th, 2012
TAGS: cities | real estate | local assets | economic development | housing
What the Deepening US Competitiveness Problem Means for Urban Businesses
Source: The Educated Society: http://bit.ly/xoPXGg
Recently, Harvard Business School’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, led by Dr. Michael Porter (ICIC’s founder), released the results of its first annual Survey on U.S. Competitiveness. The survey sought to pinpoint the roots of the country’s competitiveness problem. Specifically making their definition of competitiveness holistic enough to include rising living standards (and by extension employment), the survey provides an interesting snapshot of commercial realities, attitudes, and expectations. Below is an outline of the result’s implications for urban businesses.
1) Urban Employment Continues to Suffer
To state the painfully obvious, America’s economic morass has lasted much longer than most experts originally anticipated. A large majority of survey respondents (71%) expect U.S. competitiveness to decline over the next three years, with worker’s living standards under greater pressure than firm’s successes. As was recently reported in Atlantic Cities, most metro areas won’t return to pre-recession employment levels until 2015—a stunning 8 years after the beginning of the financial crisis. Unemployment results in diminished consumer purchasing power, affecting urban small business directly, but can also result in indirect costs like higher crime rates—impacting not just businesses but entire communities.
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on January 23rd, 2012
TAGS: jobs | economic development | employment | competitiveness | hbs | shared value | study
Good News for Small Business? More Like Mixed Signals from the White House
Photo courtesy of CNN.com
Last Friday President Obama announced a proposal to combine the Small Business Administration (SBA) with five other government offices. If approved by Congress, the proposal will merge the SBA with the core business functions of the Department of Commerce, the Office of U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. The proposal, aiming to streamline the agencies, is part of Obama’s broader executive branch reorganization.
At the same time, President Obama leveraged his authority to elevate the SBA to a cabinet-level agency. The elevated status gives the head of the SBA, Karen Mills, a seat at future Cabinet meetings.
However, Karen Mill’s seat might not be warm for long. If President Obama’s reorganization is approved by Congress, the SBA will immediately lose its Cabinet position.
How’s that for mixed-signals?
BY Mary Duggan on January 19th, 2012
TAGS: small business | sba | politics | entrepreneur
On Second Thought, Maybe U.S. Manufacturing Isn’t Dead: At Least Not in Our Inner Cities
Above: Inside of Unwrapped in Lowell, MA
We hear it all the time. U.S. manufacturing is dead.
Except, that’s not really true. According to the National Association of Manufacturing, the industry supports an estimated 18.6 million jobs in the U.S. – or about one in six private sector jobs. Nearly 12 million Americans (9% of the workforce) are employed directly in manufacturing.
And this manufacturing is still happening in our once-thriving industrial cities. Lowell, Massachusetts is one of those cities. Located just north of Boston, the city is home to over 100,000 residents. It’s location on the Merrimack River made it a hub for textile production during the early 1900s. But as is the case with many older industrial cities, Lowell lost much of its manufacturing when companies moved to the Sun Belt or overseas. In 1931, Harper’s magazine even referred to Lowell as a “depressed industrial desert.”
Today, however, Lowell is gaining a reputation as a hotbed for small business activity within the mills that once housed the textile industry. While many high-tech companies have moved in, manufacturing companies are also capitalizing on the inexpensive real estate and mill space.
BY Alex Rodriguez on January 18th, 2012
TAGS: manufacturing | business | jobs | industrial | ic100 | small business
Revitalizing Cities via “Placemaking”
Above: “Chalk Flood” at Rosa Park Circle, Grand Rapids
Back at the CEOs for Cities conference in October, a panel of mayors all overwhelmingly described their interest in attracting young, talented workers to their cities. Mayor Mick Cornett explained how he went as far as attracting the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team to the city – because all young people love sports, right? It must give them a way to identify with their city.
Aside from this example, few mayors explained how they planned to attract this young, “creative class.” And certainly, cities should not haphazardly start bidding for sports teams as a recruitment strategy.
So what can cities do?
There’s a rising movement toward “placemaking” – i.e. strategically creating places that people gravitate to because they are appealing and enjoyable.
BY Amanda Maher on January 17th, 2012
TAGS: economic development | cities | community development | jobs | workforce | grand rapids | knight foundation
Starbucks, Silicon Valley, and US Government Take Aim at Local Biz
What do Starbucks, Silicon Valley, and the Obama administration have in common? While it sounds like the lead-in to a bad joke, they’re all trying to jumpstart job growth by facilitating local commerce and investment at scale. We’ve written many times in the past about inner city companies’ capital access challenges and their unfavorable growth compared to their non-urban peers. It only seems right to start off the New Year on an optimistic note about ambitious projects being executed to remedy these disparities.
Starbucks Create Jobs for USA Project
“Thanks to my CDFI’s investment, we can bring our products to new markets and continue to lead in the fast-growing market of at-home pizza making.”
- Brad Sterl Jr., Rustic Pizza
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on January 11th, 2012
Why Your City Matters to Your Business
Here are 5 reasons your city makes a big difference to the success of your business.
We all hear about the critical role that businesses play in the competitiveness and economic growth of our cities. But it’s important to note that the reverse is also true: Your city has a tremendous impact on your bottom line. Your city means more to your business than just an address on the front door. Your company’s location drives business formation, strategy and performance. It’s called economic geography – and it’s a two-way street.
I’ve challenged my graduate students – all of them entrepreneurs and small business owners – to consider the question of place: How does your city support your business growth?
City industry clusters help businesses thrive.
If birds of a feather flock together, so do similar businesses: biotech companies gather in Cambridge, energy companies gravitate toward Houston, athletic apparel is huge in Portland, Ore., and finance clusters in New York City. The close proximity creates a synergy that enables companies within the cluster to easily collaborate, influence local policy investments, share specialized training programs and partner with service providers...
BY Steven Pedigo on January 10th, 2012
One Small Step for Anti-Sprawl, One Giant Leap for Houston Economic Development?
Big houses. Big cars. Big hair. Welcome to Texas: the state where “everything is bigger” – including big dreams of turning absolutely nothing into empires. No city more accurately embodies this spirit than my hometown of Houston.
The fourth largest city in the U.S., Houston is largely known for being the epicenter of the energy industry, home to NASA and site of one of the largest hospital districts in the world. The city boasts assets like the Houston Ship Channel, which allows oil and petrochemical tankers easy access to local refineries (the city has the largest concentration of oil refineries in the world).
Houston is also a major immigrant hub from cities across the globe. One little known fact: Outside of California, Houston is the largest home to Vietnamese immigrants in the country. As a result, the city has a dynamic, cosmopolitan culture that has resulted in a diverse local economy that is the envy of much of the rest of the country.
But for every positive thing about Houston, another challenge exists....
BY Alex Rodriguez on January 9th, 2012
TAGS: houston | sprawl | economic development | density | transit | business
CDFIs Starting to Show Their Potential
We’ve heard it time and time again. One of the biggest barriers to growth for small businesses and early-stage entrepreneurs is access to capital. In inner cities, this is a hurdle that can be especially difficult to overcome.
The Community Development and Policy Studies Division of the Chicago Fed recently featured CDFI banks as the topic of its “Profitwise News and Views Spotlight.” We’re excited to read about the recent developments in CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions), not only because the program’s mission is to help financial institutions provide capital and financial services to America’s underserved communities, but also because we have been examining its impact within inner cities as part of our capital research.
The report outlines the importance of CDFIs and then suggests how the program might be able to expand in the future. Here are some highlights of the Chicago Fed Spotlight:
- CDFI banks increased by over 35% from 2009 to 2010 (with 30 newly certified banks) thanks largely to the launch of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI), which required CDFI status to be eligible for its low-interest secondary capital deposits....
BY Mary Duggan on January 6th, 2012
TAGS: capital | cdfi | small business
How a Unique Vision Attracted International Financing to Akron's Urban Core
Above: UP Akron's new Executive Director, Eric Johnson
By: Diane Evans
You do not have to look too closely at our nation’s checkbook to realize the extent to which cities will struggle in 2012 to transform into increasingly competitive and lively communities. Urban redevelopment will happen in cities that are creative, specific and unified.
Akron, Ohio, is an example of a city that is positioning itself well, having a master plan for growth that seeks to trigger hundreds of millions of dollars in development in 2012 and beyond.
Surprised? If so, it is understandable. Akron is the former Rubber Capitol of the World, a city with an industrial heritage. As such, its economic challenges reflect that of many other “legacy cities” struggling to recover from deep manufacturing losses.
Consider this profile of Akron from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 2010:
· Unemployment at 16.2 percent in Akron, compared to a national average of 10.8 percent;
· Median household income of $31,171, compared to $50,046 for the nation as a whole;
· Population that declined 8.3 percent since 2000 while the nation’s population increased by 9.9 percent during the same period.
With major support from the Knight Foundation, Akron’s nonprofit real estate development corporation, University Park Alliance (UPA), is drawing on existing resources – including a community spirit of collaboration – to help turn the tide....
BY Guest Blogger on January 4th, 2012
TAGS: economic development | akron | university park alliance | anchors | knight foundation
Cities have lower mortality rates, and that’s not all: Why cities matter
Above: Image from the cover of Glaeser's new book "Triumph of the City"
It should come to no surprise to anyone familiar with the work of ICIC that we’re a firm believer in cities acting as engines of economic growth and opportunity. That’s why we were delighted to read a recent article in European Magazine that interviewed one of our favorite urban economists – Harvard Professor Ed Glaeser, who also happens to be a huge proponent of investing in our cities.
We’ve heard Glaeser speak several times this past year, perhaps as a result of our overlapping work, or perhaps because Glaeser is on a whirlwind speaking tour for his new book, Triumph of the City. We had the opportunity to chat with him at the “Smaller Industrial Cities” conference here in Massachusetts, and were excited to see him speak at the CEOs for Cities annual conference in Chicago back in October. And of course, there are the two copies of his book sitting on my own desk at home (excessive? Perhaps…)
Yet, despite the times I’ve heard him speak, or the chapters of his book I’ve flipped through, I still found theinterview with European Magazine to be captivating. He reiterated a few things we already knew about cities, but brought to our attention some interesting new perspectives about cities and their governments....
BY Amanda Maher on January 3rd, 2012
TAGS: cities | environment | ed glaeser
Local Food Movement and the Intergenerational Factor
Photo courtesy of www.theburlapbag.com
By Sharon McMillan, New Urban Mom
Consider this statement: The local food movement is a romantic movement that gives urban cheerleaders and regionalists an anchor upon which to turn ideals into practical strategies. I think many well-intentioned people would agree that the effort we are putting into keeping more dollars in our community is not the magic pill for our economic challenges. It is, however, a step in the right direction that requires a fully integrated and inter-generational approach to sustainable cities and regions.
Countless publications have already asserted that initiatives established to re-jig our economies by boosting local food production aren’t about to replace the thousands of jobs being lost in this current economy. In fact it won’t even come close at this point in time.
Yet, even with that knowledge I think there’s an understanding that pushing for the growth of local food clusters and an appreciation for an economy rooted in local resources – natural and man-made – sets the foundation for creating a mind-set and a generation that will in time, I believe, bring prosperity back to many regions in our country.
I’m not a planner or economist, but my perspective on what our cities and regions need is shaped by my role as a parent, working woman and resident. I’m not being narcissistic when I say my perspective is critically important, though I am being slightly facetious. “My” perspective is the perspective shared by the very people who will make the decisions to live and work in the urban centers we need to revitalize.
So as we think about the initiatives that our economies need to be more self-sufficient and attractive to the everyday residents who will have the courage, commitment and vision to turn blighted areas into real communities, let’s look at what “we” want:
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We want safe communities where our children can learn and grow in their environments
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We want our regions to attract forward thinking, successful companies that will provide jobs or business opportunities for ourselves and our neighbors
- We want housing options and cultural amenities that will boost our quality of life
BY Guest Blogger on December 30th, 2011
TAGS: food | community development | clusters
2011 in Review: Our biggest hits
As some of you may have noticed, 2011 was the year ICIC decided to embark on a new social media adventure. We reworked our website, created a Twitter account, and began blogging. It has been a great way to connect with so many of you out there, to share ideas, and to trade best practices for what make our cities and urban small businesses tick.
With 2011 winding down, we thought it would be interesting to look back on our journey and capture what were some of our biggest social media hits of the year....
BY Amanda Maher on December 27th, 2011
TAGS: cities | economic development | food | clusters | shared value | newark | cleveland | nyc
Top 5 Inner City Small Business Predictions for 2012
As ICIC’s research on inner cities has shown, inner cities don’t benefit from regional investment alone; instead, they require targeted strategies and investments to prosper.
In the spirit of this Entrepreneur.com article identifying the top 10 small business predictions for 2012, it seems only right to do the same for small businesses located in the inner city given that macro predictions might not trickle down to distressed urban areas. So, taking the most relevant insights from the broader national picture and ICIC’s own expertise, below are my top 5 Inner City Small Business Predictions for 2012....
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on December 23rd, 2011
TAGS: retail | shared value | small business | business
Cleveland Really Does Rock: My Trip to Lake Erie’s Shore
Above: View of the west bank of the flats in Cleveland from the lower deck of the Detroit-Superior Bridge
In early December with the end of the year fast approaching, I realized I had some time off that I needed to burn. So I booked a quick trip to Cleveland.
Cleveland? Wait, what? Why?
That seems to be the reaction I got out of folks here in Boston. But truth be told, the urban enthusiast that I am, I was actually really excited to go visit this post-industrial city that I’ve read so much about but never experienced first-hand. And it didn’t hurt that I have friends living out there, to boot.
I can best summarize my 72-hours there by saying: Cleveland really does rock....
BY Amanda Maher on December 22nd, 2011
TAGS: cleveland | economic development | food | transit | housing
California SBDC Shows Small Businesses How to Maximize Business via Profit and Loss Statements
In a Q&A with the Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Loan Advisor Bill Sorotsky explains how small businesses can use Profit and Loss Statements to boost their businesses. As the direction of the economy remains uncertain, is it all the more beneficial for small business owners to heed advice such as this.
So what is a Profit and Loss Statement (P&L)?
Also known as an income statement, it is a summary of the company’s profit or loss during a given period of time – traditionally a month, quarter or year. The report details all revenues and operating expenses for the business. The beauty of a P&L is that it outlines for the business areas in which they can reduce costs and boost profits.
But why would you need this instead of just a traditional cash flow statement?...
BY Amanda Maher on December 21st, 2011
TAGS: small business | business | capital
3 Ways the Government Can Fund Your Business
Image courtesy of flickr user vgm8383
We've all heard about SBA loans, but how about NMTCs and CDFIs? Here's how to start cutting through the alphabet soup and get some dough.
We're from the government, and we're here to help.
If, as an entrepreneur, these works strike fear in to your heart, we get it. Nonetheless, the government backs, funds, runs or otherwise supports a number of programs that can help uou find growth capital, and sometimes even startup funds, for your business. They range from the relatively well-known Small Business Administration offerings to Community Development Financial Institutions and the somewhat more complex New Markets Tax Credits. Together, they can provide access to financing and opportunities that would otherwise be missed, even by the most aggressive entrepreneurs.
Here are three sources of government funding every entrepreneur should know about:
To read the entire article, click here.
BY Steven Pedigo on December 15th, 2011
TAGS: nmtc | small business | cdfis | capital | entrepreneur | business
Helping Inner City Residents Help Themselves
Guest blog by Myron Belej, MCIP, AICP
Our inner cities are often marked, characterized and blighted by older, deteriorating houses; higher crime and fire rates; lower incomes; disempowered residents; an array of higher costs; and a need for marketable job skills.
But this doesn’t have to be the case.
Imagine an initiative whereby we train our citizens to fix their own neighbourhoods. Our more progressive cities should take the lead on what I call “Trades-For-Citizens” programs that address all of the above issues, and support every citizen’s right to safe, stable housing.
What Need Fixing?
Our inner city housing stock has often been neglected. Devoid of resources, these homes have fallen in to states of disrepair and face problems like structural issues, flood damage and high fire risks.....
BY Guest Blogger on December 14th, 2011
TAGS: cities | workforce | jobs | housing | community development
Achieving Greater Cluster-Based Economic Growth by Incorporating Inner Cities
Above: Michael Porter at the 2011 Inner City Economic Summit as he explains the importance of inner cities to regional cluster-based economic strategies
Over the past week, there have been multiple articles discussing the importance of clusters in promoting economic development strategies. Authors argue that while technology has made it easier than ever to connect with one another in a globalized world, proximity to other like businesses is still paramount.
How do we know that place still matters? In a post by Area Development, the author explains:
Sixty percent of the respondents to Area Development’s 2010 Corporate Survey said the presence of activities similar to theirs was a consideration when selecting a site. More recently, a 2011 Brookings Institution report showed that “strong clusters foster innovation through dense knowledge flows and spillovers; strengthen entrepreneurship by boosting new enterprise formation and start-up survival; enhance productivity, income levels, and employment growth in industries; and positively influence regional economic performance.”
Industry clusters, as defined by Harvard Business School professor and ICIC founder Michael E. Porter, are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers and associated institutions in a particular field that are present in a specific geography. Clusters arise because they increase the productivity with which companies can compete.
In a separate article on Area Development, Christopher Steele notes that, “From a competitive perspective, the cluster permits access to specialized information on the market. This includes general market conditions, technical information on the network of providers and partners. It also provides real-time information on one’s competition through direct interaction in the local network. This in itself can drive innovation.”
The importance of clusters has not subsided, as some have argued....
BY Amanda Maher on December 12th, 2011
TAGS: cities | clusters | food | economic development
When Government gets it right: Public Programs that helped one Inner city company expand
The 661 unique Inner City 100 winners have been illustrations of the grit and tenacity necessary to make it in today’s extremely volatile business climate. With worries of economic uncertainty at home and financial uncertainty abroad in Europe and elsewhere, our Inner City 100 winners have had to find opportunity wherever and whenever it comes knocking. They have had to find the right segments to serve within the private, public and non-profit sectors.
Team Henry Enterprises found its growth potential through public sector financing programs and then public sector contracts. This 2-time Inner City 100 winner (#59 in 2011) is based in Newport News, Virginia with CEO Devon Henry at the helm.
The company is an SBA certified 8a participant, a registered Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, is located in a HubZone – all of which open funding opportunities for the growing business. They can use these certifications to leverage government contracts, grow networks to fund the scaling of their operations, and even find other small businesses within the area with which to conduct their business.
But how did Team Henry get to this point?....
BY Alex Rodriguez on December 8th, 2011
TAGS: ic100 | small business | sba | entrepreneur | partnerships | mwbes
Transforming an Industrial Weakness in to an Asset
Above: NYC's "High Line"
Cites with industrial histories often face questions as to what should be made of former industrial space. Should old factories be turned in to schools? Should warehouses be converted in to loft-style apartments? Should railroad tracks be torn up so a bike path can be installed?
Similar questions were raised in New York City back in the 1990s. What should be done with the 1.5 mile elevated industrial railroad track that was built in the 1930s? This “High Line” was once used for freight traffic, but hadn’t been in operation since its last run in the 1980s. Shortly thereafter, residents began fighting for the unsightly tracks’ demolition. Others urged a new rail service to be created. The battle over the High Line as compounded in the late-1990s when another group began pushing for a project that would turn the infrastructure into a system of public parks.
Adaptive reuse won....
BY Amanda Maher on December 5th, 2011
TAGS: nyc | economic development | industrial | urban design
Flying Back from the Brink
With American Airlines being the most recent high-profile bankruptcy, one has to ask what you do with a company that still has a market that needs to be served but has been driven to the brink.
This brings us to number 40 on the 2011 Inner City 100, Aztec Promotional Group, a promotional licensing company (t-shirts, pens, mousepads, etc.) based out of Austin, Texas. It was originally owned by Alejandro Vazquez with whom its current CEO, Patti Wistanley, became familiar through her son, a student at the University of Texas. At the time, the business was in serious decline and Vasquez was looking to get rid of it. Patti and her family had an operation where they took over companies that were in trouble (often in bankruptcy); they were appointed by the courts over the management of the Aztec when it filed for bankruptcy in 2004. Patti, however, bought the company with the hope of turning it into a high-growth firm that, in 2008, did $1.8 million in revenues.
Aztec’s location near University of Texas at Austin—one of the largest universities in the United States—has proved beneficial in turning the company around. The company develops promotional materials for the University, as well as many of the student organizations affiliated with the University. The majority of the company’s business comes from universities looking to print items such as championship t-shirts or promotional items. As Aztec adds more universities to their wingspan, they will be able to add more and more clients.
Patti has found the procurement networks for the universities to be difficult to navigate; she believes you have to know the right person to gain some sort of access. The progression is further drawn out when the company has to explain its supply chain processes and unique competitive advantages. These are challenges she was ready and willing to combat.
Getting a bankrupt company back to a point of sustainability was going to be quite an obstacle. The biggest challenges included re-building the company’s reputation and showing customers that they could follow through on jobs despite the company’s financial circumstances. As market conditions have evolved over the last few years, organizations have tightened budgets. Companies now shop around more than ever before.
BY Alex Rodriguez on December 2nd, 2011
TAGS: small business | jobs | ic100 | entrepreneur
Urban Business-Owners Share Their Biggest Challenges
Photo: Executives from Energetic Energy at the ICCC National Matching Day
Earlier this month ICIC and Bank of America convened over 125 urban business-owners in New York City for the Inner City Capital Connections National Matching Day. This day was dedicated to helping inner city entrepreneurs access capital which, according to ICIC research, has proven an obstacle for the vast majority. While the business owners were practicing their pitch to investors through speed-dating sessions, BusinessNewsDaily caught up with some of the participants to get an idea of what some of their biggest challenges were.
Below are the top 10 challenges the ICCC participants reported facing as urban small-business owners.
1. Access to capital...
BY Mary Duggan on November 28th, 2011
TAGS: capital | small business | business | entrepreneur | jobs | iccc
This Thanksgiving, We're Thankful for Small Business Retailers
Gearing up for holiday shopping? Looking to fill those stockings and find the perfect gift for your loved ones? Below you'll find 4 retailers around the country that you should not miss visiting on American Express’s Small Business Saturday.
According to a study by Civics Economics, analysis and strategic planning consultants out of Austin, Texas, 68 cents of every dollar spent at a small business stays in the community. The same study found that only 46 cents of each dollar spent at big box retailers stayed in local communities.
On November 26, support local communities by shopping at your favorite local retailer and take advantage of a host of promotions surrounding the event. ICIC, over the years, has worked with a lot of excellent firms and we would feel remiss if we didn’t highlight a few must-visits for the holiday season...
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on November 23rd, 2011
TAGS: small business | business | jobs | entrepreneur | ic100 | retail
TRE Networks: Uncovering Regional Cluster-Based Economic Development Strategies
As you may recall, in October ICIC held its annual Inner City Economic Summit – or “Urban 2.0” – to address the challenges facing our inner city economies. One of the most riveting presentations at the Summit was by ICIC founder, Dr. Michael E. Porter. Porter, an expert on inner city economies, indicated that the debate about cluster-based economic development is over; it works. He explained that it’s now time to move on to the implementation phase, or the “next frontier.”
TRE (Transformative Regional Engagement) Networks is hosting its annual roundtable, Dec. 5-7th, to uncover what this “next frontier” might look like. With cluster-based economic development at its core, the roundtable seeks to identify ways to “make regionalism work.”
Topics at the TRE Roundtable vary, but include: how to form a coalition to promote advanced manufacturing in the Great lakes mega-region; the topic of “economic development and equity: achieving scale” – which will look at how people and places can connect to growth and opportunity rather than holding back progress; and the role of universities in promoting regional economic development.
BY Amanda Maher on November 22nd, 2011
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Small Business Saturday: Free Promotions to Help You Get the Most Out of November 26
"Nine in 10 Americans believe small business success is critical to the health of the U.S. economy, and Small Business Saturday translates this sentiment into dollars and cents for independent retailers." – Maryann Fitzmaurice, senior VP of American Express OPEN
Inaugurated last year, American Express’s Small Business Saturday aims to drive holiday shoppers into local, independent retail stores across the country on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 26, 2011). Building on last year’s success, sponsors across the corporate landscape have created promotions to make this year’s installment even bigger. For your convenience, we have compiled a list of free promotions whether you’re a curious small business or an excited shopper.
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on November 17th, 2011
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Convening Anchors to Promote Shared Value
ICIC was back in the Big Apple this week after having just been there last Thursday for ICCC’s Match Day.
ICIC Chairman Michael Porter and CEO Mary Kay Leonard were there to join Deputy Mayor Robert Steel and Department of Small Businesses Services Commissioner Rob Walsh. Jointly, they convened local higher education leaders and city officials at Gracie Mansion. The session – “New York City’s Anchor Institutions: From Social Responsibility to Shared Value” – included a presentation and discussion led by Professor Porter on how the city’s colleges and universities can build shared value with the economically distressed communities around them.
Turnout for the event exceeded expectations due to much excitement about the day's agenda. The 80+ attendees included presidents and top deputies from 23 of New York City’s leading colleges and universities across the five boroughs.
By way of background, anchors are large institutions, typically educational, medical or cultural, that are deeply rooted in their local geographies. They play an integral role in the economy and can have deeper local impact by targeting their core activities. Nationwide, urban-based colleges and universities provide 2.4% of private sector jobs and spend $175 billion on goods, services, and salaries and benefits. These institutions have added 12.5% of jobs from 1998-2009.
BY Amanda Maher on November 16th, 2011
TAGS: economic development | nyc | anchors | upenn
ICCC's Match Day: Filling an Inner City Capital Gap
Image courtesy of Fortune.com and CNNMoney.com
Last Thursday, November 10, hundreds of investors and companies flocked to Fortune headquarters in NYC for the 7th annual Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) match day.
Inner city companies are nearly five times more likely than non-inner city companies to finance growth through personal assets, friends, and family. Exacerbating the problem, the number of commercial bank branches located in inner cities declined by 8% between 1998 and 2007, even as the number of commercial bank branches nationwide increased by 27%. Through targeted sessions and live investor feedback on pitches, ICCC serves an unmet need by increasing the financial sophistication of inner city entrepreneurs and introducing them to capital providers.
After a brief introduction, company presentations began by Dero Bike Rack Company, InfoPeople Corporation, Dental Kidz LLC, Victory Personnel Services, and AVPOL International. These firms ranged from one company that makes artistic bike racks to a software project development firm; the pitches and subsequent feedback not only primed companies in the audience for their own pitches later in the day, but also upended caricatures of inner city firms.
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on November 15th, 2011
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In just two years, over 500 small businesses experience growth
Above: Angelica of Colmex Construction, one of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative participants.
It’s no secret: small businesses drive our economy. According to the Small Business Administration, they account for 99.7% of all employer firms, half of all private sector workers and have generated 65% of the net new jobs over the past two decades. Here at ICIC, we realize that finding ways to support small businesses will help to revitalize our inner city economies.
That’s why we’re proud to partner with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative— a national, multi-year investment to create jobs and economic opportunity by providing entrepreneurs with greater access to business education, financial capital and business support services.
The initiative’s unique model is implemented nationwide by community colleges, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and community organizations. It is currently operating in New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New Orleans—with more cities in the near future! By year end, more than 500 businesses will have benefited from the program and significant growth already has been achieved...
BY Amanda Maher on November 14th, 2011
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Today is CAPITAL DAY here at ICIC!
A key driver of business success is access to financial capital. Businesses often have capital needs that are not met, especially businesses in inner cities.
We’re on a mission today to change all that.
How? We’ve got two ways.
First, we’re in Washington, D.C. at the Federal Reserve. Our research team is presenting Capital Availability in Inner Cities: What Role for Federal Policy?As the title suggests, the paper looks at the role federal policy has in ensuring access to capital for inner city businesses....
BY Amanda Maher on November 10th, 2011
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With ICCC education, Facilities Connection Soars
Policymakers often talk of helping “job creators” with temporary programs like tax credits in exchange for new hiring or “Cash for Clunkers.” While ameliorative and perhaps necessary given institutional constraints, the dominant problem that has plagued global industry since the financial crisis hit in 2008 is credit access.
In a macro environment of tight capital, it comes as no surprise that already capital-scarce inner cities are still struggling to grow companies and communities. Of interest to policymakers may be that significant gains can be made just by educating inner city companies on how to attract financing, and then letting the market choose winners.
Facilities Connection, a global modular solutions company from El Paso, Texas provides an excellent case study....
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on November 9th, 2011
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Hiring Less Highly-Skilled Workers as a Business Model? How this IC100 Company makes it work
The term “urban revitalization” has often conjured up images of rapid gentrification. Firms of all shapes and sizes have often contributed to such an epidemic, seeing urban development as a solid market opportunity where value can be maximized. Some firms, however, have located in inner cities because they realize there’s an existing opportunity to create shared value—i.e. making a profit while simultaneously making the neighborhood a better place for the residents and businesses that call it home.
Boulevard Group of Atlanta is just one of those companies—and it landed them spot #73 on the 2011 Inner City 100 list. The company provides planning and management services for affordable housing developments. In addition, the Boulevard Group is starting to create their own private communities that they will own and operate; this business line will be fully developed within the next five years. The company has operations in Huntsville, Alabama and Chicago, Illinois.
Boulevard Group was established in 1997 by James Brooks as a planning and program management firm specializing in capital projects for public agencies. As the former Deputy Executive Director of the Atlanta Housing Authority from 1994 to 1997, Brooks was responsible for the planning and development of the Olympic Legacy Program which consists of five mixed-income communities that reuse of the Olympic Village from the Atlanta Games. The development was viewed a successful model nationwide and earned Brooks a reputation as one of the leading authorities in affordable housing development and management.
Brooks actually started Boulevard Group when he was tapped by Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Andrew Cuomo to provide expertise and consulting services to a number of communities across the country that were struggling with their housing developments and associated problems. The company initially started with just Brooks but has grown to over 20 full-time employees in three U.S. offices. Boulevard Group positions itself as one of the country’s only full-service community planning firms, providing a one-stop for the project development, management and social services needed to operate an effective housing development...
BY Alex Rodriguez on November 7th, 2011
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Today, we're in NYC to build Opportunity
The Big Apple: It’s an iconic U.S. city that represents our nation’s history of immigration, economic opportunity and freedom. It’s no wonder that NYC was chosen as the host city for Opportunity Nation’s annual Summit—and we’re happy to join them today to hear stories of inspiration, to learn about new growth opportunities, and to hear leaders share their vision for the future of the American Dream.
By way of background, Opportunity Nation is a coalition of nearly 200 businesses, non-profits, educational institutions and military organizations founded to promote economic opportunity and social mobility. They strive to create better skills, better jobs, and better communities. Opportunity Nation is a campaign run through Alan Khazi’s (founder of CityYear) Be the Change, Inc. organization.
ICIC was an early coalition partner of Opportunity Nation because we believe that America cannot succeed if we do not address the economic inequality in this country. Our inner cities disproportionately suffer from high unemployment and poverty rates. For example:....
BY Amanda Maher on November 4th, 2011
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Meeting the Right Financial Partner
Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) is just around the corner! Next Thursday, over 100 inner city entrepreneurs will pitch their companies to potential investors in New York City. The matchmaking event will include a series of “speed-pitches” with investors representing private equity, venture capital, angel networks, mezzanine financing and debt. The day is not only about making deals—but making the right deals that fit with the entrepreneurs’ business growth plans.
Coming off of the October 20th capital education training in Detroit, these entrepreneurs are equipped with the knowledge needed to communicate with investors. The 125 companies participating in the program were selected out of a record-setting 3,200 company nominations based on their strong growth potential and commitment to the inner city. Many of the participating companies are ready to grow, and after attending ICCC, are able to do just that.
Micron Electrical Contracting of Detroit is one of those companies.
BY Mary Duggan on November 3rd, 2011
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Small Business Owners, Rejoice! 10 new tips to help you find your angel
Happy November, friends! As we've learned here at ICIC, access to capital is one of the strongest barriers facing inner city companies. We've heard countless stories about how, when able to access capital, urban businesses can thrive. As such, we thought there was no better way to kick off the month with a few new pieces of insight from someone who is all too familiar with small business development. On the agenda: How small business owners can better connect with angel investors.
Rieva Lesonsky shared her "10 Tips for Finding Angel Capital" with Los Angeles Regional Small Business Develpment Center (SBDC) Network. Ms. Lesonsky is founder and President of GrowBiz Media, a company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Before launching her business, she was Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine. We found her advice to be pretty useful, and wanted to share her tips with you as well. So here goes:
BY Alex Rodriguez on November 1st, 2011
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Housing led us in to this recession. It will have to lead us out.
In back-to-back weeks, I found myself sitting alongside industry peers at The Boston Foundation. This time, we were there for the presentation of the 2011 Greater Boston Housing Report Card—an annual report put together by Northeastern University’s Dukakis Center.
Briefly, the report explains that at the core of our nation’s recession is the collapse of the housing market. The authors write that until the housing market recovers, there is little hope for increased economic growth.
As for Greater Boston, the region’s housing market has outperformed national averages. Production has not declined as much as in other areas (think: Las Vegas and cities that were in the midst of a construction boom when the housing bubble burst), and housing prices have not tumbled drastically.
The report finds that despite this (relatively) good news, Greater Boston’s inner city areas continue to be plagued by foreclosures.
BY Amanda Maher on October 31st, 2011
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GROWING Community and Business
Last week the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) program hosted an unprecedented number of participants at its training session in Detroit. Over one hundred investment-ready inner city entrepreneurs gathered to learn about equity and other sources of capital to help them grow their businesses. Detroit was well represented by its entrepreneurs, with 24 small business CEOs participating and one alumna CEO providing baked goods for all the participants. Avalon International Breads participated in ICCC in 2010 and has since grown its business in Detroit.
Avalon International Breads has always been more than just a bakery. The two founders, Jackie Victor and Ann Perrault, wanted to build a business that would, in their words, “rebuild, respirit and revitalize” Detroit.
BY Mary Duggan on October 28th, 2011
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How Can Interest-Based Bargaining Improve our Inner City Economies?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve attended both our own Inner City Economic Summit and the CEOs for Cities annual meeting. These meetings convened top-level private, civic and nonprofit leaders from across the country to discuss ways to improve economic development initiatives in our cities.
A prevailing theme from both conferences was the need to improve education. At the Summit, education focused primarily on workforce development initiatives and creating a strong education pipeline (particularly for jobs in the industrial sector). At the CEOs for Cities conference, I learned about improving K-12 education, community colleges and investing in our research institutions. But the same conclusion could be drawn from both events: education is vital to the health of our inner city economies.
Last week, I visited The Boston Foundation for the release of Toward a New Grand Bargain, a report by Northeastern University’s (and my graduate school advisor) Barry Bluestone and Professor Tom Kochan of MIT. At its core, the report acknowledges that cities are in a time of fiscal austerity—and as such, public sector unions are being attacked, and in some cases, dismantled. In order to protect total breakdown between political leaders and civil servants, we should move from a system of adversarial bargaining to “interest-based bargaining” (IBB). The report focuses primarily on doing so in Massachusetts’ educational system; but the same approach could be applied to all public unions...
BY Amanda Maher on October 26th, 2011
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Cluster Development as an Economic Driver for Inner Cities
Earlier today, our friends at UC Berkley’s Network on Building Resilient Regions posted a blog entry on their website that looks at how cluster-based economic development can be used to drive inner city growth. The entry draws on a recent presentation by Harvard Business School professor, and ICIC founder, Dr. Michael Porter, at ICIC’s Inner City Economic Forum earlier this month. Here is an excerpt from the blog:
“Latch on to any cluster you have and upgrade it. There is no bad cluster.”
—Michael Porter, professor, Harvard Business School, [founder] ICIC
When casting about for ways to spark innovation and economic growth, many metro areas opt to poach from neighboring states or court a certain industry with tax breaks and other incentives. Rather than looking at one’s neighbors as competitors, metros should look across state or local lines to their region’s strengths, legacy industries, and population, and band together instead.
At a recent conference of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, founder and chairman of Michael Porter, spoke of such cooperation in the form of clusters and their power to spark development. Clusters are a critical mass of firms in a given location in a given field. A food cluster, for example, would include wholesale providers, inspection firms, distribution firms, machinery, and so forth. As a critical mass, clusters promote efficiencies that individual businesses or industries cannot. They take advantage of pools of employees or suppliers or other economies of scale.
BY Steven Pedigo on October 25th, 2011
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IC100 Companies: Using Market Knowledge to Identify High-Growth Market Opportunities
Many CEOs of high-growth firms, specifically those seen on the Inner City 100 over the past 13 years, have taken the skill they knew best (artistic design, programming, building and fixing things around the house, etc.) and made a business of it. In many instances, the leaders of these companies worked for another firm when they realized there was an opportunity for them to step in, offer better services and fulfill a market need.
This strategy has not been lost on one particular 2011 Inner City 100 winner, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Network Deposition Services and its CEO Terri Urbash. Founded in 2005, Network Deposition Services (NDS) is a full-scale court reporting and legal videography firm and finished #16 on the 2011 Inner City 100 list after posting a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 64%. As of 2009, the company had 29 employees and approximately $1.8 million in revenue.
Urbash was a full-time court reporter with another firm, but found that she wanted to spend more time with her children so she became an independent court reporter. From there, she decided to start her own firm where she contracted out to other court reporters. She quickly realized that to be a full-scale court reporting firm, she would need full-time employees. Urbash began with just her equipment and $100 in the bank to buy letterhead. Within a year, she opened an office in downtown Pittsburgh and the company was born.
Given her vast experience as a court reporter in Pittsburgh, Urbash not only had a wealth of knowledge of the industry but also unique knowledge of the local market....
BY Alex Rodriguez on October 24th, 2011
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The Inner City Economic Summit: Identification of Assets and Burgeoning Opportunities
Earlier this month, ICIC convened a group of high-level corporate, nonprofit and civic leaders from across the U.S. to address challenges facing our inner city economies. Yet as ICIC’s research has shown, our inner cities are also flush with assets. From a readily available workforce, to anchor institutions, to (in some cases) an abundance of land – unique assets in inner cities offer significant opportunities for job growth and prosperity. At the Inner City Economic Summit, we explored these opportunities.
Through presentations and individual conversations, we were not only able to share ICIC’s own research, but we also learned from the 250+ attendees at the conference. Here are a few of the themes that seemed to boil to the top and really stuck with us:
BY Amanda Maher on October 19th, 2011
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Through Diversification, One Company Brings Value to Inner City Oakland
“One thing we know about creativity is that it typically occurs when people who have mastered two or more quite different fields use the framework in one to think afresh about the other… But if you spend your life in one silo, you will never have either the knowledge or mental agility to do the synthesis, connect the dots, which is usually where the next great breakthrough is found.” – Marc Tucker, President and CEO of the National Center on Education and the Economy
As facets of our society continue to become more specialized, it is useful to remind ourselves that, for much of Western history, diversity of achievement was exalted as the truest testament of talent.
While the mention of Leonardo Da Vinci evokes images of the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, less well known are his visionary sketches of tanks and helicopters and his contributions to the futures of manufacturing and geology. Perhaps then, the modern trend towards specialization can be viewed as a lens through which distinct problems can be solved. Just as Facebook brought another layer to Myspace and Pandora (number 2 on last year’s Inner City 100 list) combined the best of radio, professional taste, and individual preferences, firms across the country are creating value by cross-applying expertise.
So it was for Santiago Cuenca-Romero, CEO of Premier Organics, #21 on last year’s Inner City 100 list...
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on October 17th, 2011
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What I heard at the CEOs for Cities Conference
After a multi-hour flight delay at O’Hare, I am finally situated and in the air; finally heading back to Boston. For the past two days, I’ve been in Chicago at the CEOs for Cities conference. With Lee Fisher at the helm, the organization brought together civic leaders from across the nation for two days of discussion about the challenges faced by our cities.
The panels ranged in expertise and scope: we heard from the Secretary of U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Shaun Donovan, about how the federal government is supporting cities; we learned that Chicago’s public-private partnerships were generating a bottom-up approach to the city’s revitalization; we discussed the metrics needed to measure exactly what makes a city successful (interestingly, a city’s “weirdness” was a factor!); we heard from thought-leaders like Henry Cisneros and Ed Glaeser on the future of our American cities; and Bruce Mau joined led a provocative conversation about the design of our urban environment.
Throughout these (and others, to be sure) discussions, I noticed a few general themes to what panelists were discussing. Despite the nature of the panel, speakers harped (and, deservedly so) on the following topics:
BY Amanda Maher on October 13th, 2011
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"Jobs Anywhere" is Not Enough
Guest Blogger: Executive Director, Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
Originally posted on Leadership and Community
The challenge put forth by Harvard professor Michael Porter, chairman and founder of ICIC, was that if we’re to see dramatic change in meeting the employment needs of inner city residents and economic growth in these communities, more focused and customized strategies are needed. He also proposed that focusing on industry clusters, which is much more prevalent globally and increasingly utilized in the United States, can and should be an economic development strategy within distressed urban areas.
Why? Because regional growth and prosperity depends on it.
BY Steven Pedigo on October 12th, 2011
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Small Businesses with Big Community Impact
“The solution lies in the principle of shared value, which involves creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society by addressing its needs and challenges. Businesses must reconnect company success with social progress. Shared value is not social responsibility, philanthropy, or even sustainability, but a new way to achieve economic success. It is not on the margin of what companies do but at the center. We believe that it can give rise to the next major transformation of business thinking.” – Michael Porter in “Creating Shared Value”
Looking at the small businesses that participate in the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) program, one cannot help but notice how deeply today’s companies seem to be incorporating the concept of “shared value” into their core business models. Whether out of conviction or economics, firms are incorporating standards of excellence above and beyond what is legally required and reaping the benefits of their benevolence on their balance sheets. FutureNet Group, a four time Inner City 100 honoree as well as three time participant in the ICCC program, has achieved success far beyond its modest urban accommodations by growing at an annual rate of more than 100% over the last five years. Located in Detroit, Michigan, a city devastated by manufacturing losses, FutureNet Group merits particular attention for its commitment to distressed communities at home and abroad.
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on October 6th, 2011
TAGS: small business | shared value | iccc | detroit | community development | entrepreneur
Thoughts on Food 2.0 by a New Urban Mom
Guest Blogger: New Urban Mom
We are in the midst of tremendous evolution with respect to the relationship between food and urban communities. During the Food 2.0 discussion at the 2011 Inner City Economic Summit, we heard again and again that urban food is evolving and the whole “local food” movement is growing. That’s evident in the thousands of farmers markets springing up not just in far flung suburban rings but smack dab in the middle of our urban cities.
Food is such a core contributor to our emotional and physical well-being that it is no wonder the growth in food clusters in our urban cities is influencing not only our personal food choices but how we feel about our neighborhoods and cities.
More urban communities are re-imagining gardening and urban agriculture not as a solitary pursuit but as a healthy, altruistic and entrepreneurial effort benefiting the community as a whole. Abandoned lots in struggling cities like Detroit and Cleveland are being converted into cultivated plots of land growing produce for commercial output and community education purposes. This is social and economic change at its best.
BY Steven Pedigo on October 5th, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: Two Days is Never Enough
We’ve spent the last two days gathering urban leaders from across the nation to discuss the future of our inner city economies. We’ve learned how cities can improve access to capital for small businesses. We heard how Chicago, led by the Civic Consulting Alliance, has formed strategic public-private partnerships to promote economic development. We were informed that the largest remaining barrier to growing the industrial economy is lack of education as to what the sector entails and which skills are needed.
Food? We covered that too. After an inspiring keynote by Kristin Groos Richmond of Revolution Food, we heard a cast of panelists discuss the ways we can grow the emerging food cluster to promote job growth and economic prosperity in our nations’ most distressed locations. Rounding things out, we heard that our inner city economies must not be forgotten about in this age of regionalism, as their assets and needs are often very different than the region as a whole.
While we’ve learned a great deal, the reality is that the conversation about our inner city economies cannot end after two days.
BY Amanda Maher on October 4th, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: A Food Revolution in the City
Guest Blogger: Alex Abboud
The food economy is going through a transition; some would call it a revolution. The term revolution pops up a lot, from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s food revolution (bringing healthy food back to working class communities), to the innovative, fast-growing company Revolution Foods, which brings healthy food into schools.
We heard from Revolution Foods co-founder and CEO Kristin Groos Richmond over lunch today at Urban 2.0. She talked about the importance of bringing healthy food into schools, in particular inner city schools. A phenomenon that’s garnered attention in recent years is that of food deserts, where local residents don’t have a grocery store nearby, and struggle to access healthy, non-processed food. In bringing quality food (and teaching good nutritional and cooking knowledge to students and parents alike), Revolution Foods is helping students and families become more healthy and productive (teachers report better student performance), along with teaching invaluable life skills.
BY Steven Pedigo on October 4th, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: Food - Not just good for our bellies, but also our inner city economies
For the first time – ever – I walked in to a conference luncheon and was greeted by a grilled chicken salad. No cookies? No potato chips? No roast beef sandwiches? This is a first. But I like it. I could use a healthy meal for a change.
As it turns out, healthy food was the topic of our luncheon keynote. Joining us for the Summit was Revolution Foods CEO, Kristin Groos Richmond. A little history about Revolution Foods: Founded in 2006 with virtually no employees, Kristin and her co-founder set out to transform the way children were served foods in schools. Particularly in the most underserved neighborhoods, Revolution Foods began serving 1,000 meals per year to students in Oakland, California – 80% of which were to students on the reduced- or free-lunch plan.
Now in its fifth year, the company has 750+ workers and serves over 450,000 meals per year...
BY Amanda Maher on October 4th, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: The Death and Rebirth of Industry and Manufacturing
Industrial jobs are not dead. Certainly, many have been lost – shipped overseas, lost to the great recession, or eliminated due to automation or increased efficiency. To follow the dominant public narrative, though, you’d be forgiven for thinking industrial jobs in North America are a relic of the 20th century. Whether it’s the conversion of former ports and industrial lands to residential/commercial space and amenities, the hollowing out of former industrial centers in the Midwest, or pop culture narratives from artists like Bruce Springsteen, the focus has been on what’s been lost, not what’s been preserved, enhanced, and created.
BY Steven Pedigo on October 4th, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: Education's Role in Industrial 2.0
The act after Professor Michael Porter of Harvard Business School can be daunting, but the leaders on the “Lessons from Industrial Cities” panel were up to the task. With incisive lessons and case studies, they shared how their cities were applying Dr. Porter’s research on clusters.
Building upon yesterday’s panel on public-private partnerships, they engaged in the crucial sharing of ideas and strategies that the Urban 2.0 Conference seeks to foster. Not surprisingly, much of the discussion about "Industrial 2.0 - Rethink, Repurpose, Retrain" leaned toward Retrain, and the role of education in sustaining our industrial economy.
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on October 4th, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: Practitioners - Why Solar Isn't the Answer to Inner City Economic Development
After going in to detail about what exactly an inner city is, Professor Porter began to apply his cluster-based theory to inner city economies. Familiar to ICIC, but perhaps not to the general audience, he explains that a cluster is a critical mass of related firms in an industry (think, food cluster – which is the topic of a panel later today).
Why do clusters matter?
Clusters increase growth and productivity. Increased suppliers make it easier to start new companies, and new products are brought to markets faster because in a cluster-based economy, products are easier to commercialize.
Perhaps one of the most important comments of the keynote speech comes when Porter points out:
Cluster policy is not about picking winners. All clusters are good.
BY Alex Rodriguez on October 4th, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: Clustering for Growth
Guest Blogger: Alex Abboud
Michael Porter, founder of the ICIC, kicked off today’s schedule with a talk about cluster-based economic development, and how these strategies can spur economic and job growth in inner cities.
Inner Cities have particular characteristics, and strategies for economic development need to reflect this. In particular, he pointed out that higher poverty rates are common (31% compared to 9% for the United States as a whole), that inner city residents often may not be able to access jobs across the region, and that inner city development needs to respect and be tailored to the particular skills and experiences of residents in the inner city. Despite the growth that many cities have experienced, in the last 10 years 82% of inner cities have performed worse than their region as a whole.
BY Steven Pedigo on October 4th, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: What is an inner city? And how do we create jobs there? - Remarks by Dr. Porter
The keynote speech by Dr. Porter is now underway. He was just introduced by Kathleen Brown (yes, sister of California governor Jerry Brown!) of Goldman Sachs. Kathleen described how she was inspired by Porter so many years ago, and is now using his cluster-based approach to help grow small businesses in inner cities as part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business (10KSB). She describes the work of both Porter and ICIC as “audacious and transformative,” which is always nice to hear.
Porter, co-chair of the 10KSB program along with Warren Buffet and Lloyd Blankfein, takes the podium to detail a bit more of the program. He explains that if “cities get their acts together,” then 10KSB will roll out the program in their city as well. So shout-out to economic development practitioners: if you want Goldman to help build small businesses in your town, be organized and prepared.
Enough with 10KSB (though, congrats to local Chicago for being the newest city to sign on with the program!); on to inner cities we move...
BY Amanda Maher on October 4th, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: Private Leadership for Public Good
“This is Just What You Do in Chicago”
James Glerum, a board member of the Civic Consulting Alliance, said this early in the session called “Corporate Community Engagement in Chicago: Commitment and Results”, which talked about private sector contribution, and cross-sector collaboration in addressing pressing social issues.
The Alliance brings together pro-bono teams of consultants and experts from different sectors. The session focused on a case study of their partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago, transforming the colleges and reinventing them for the 21st century.
BY Steven Pedigo on October 3rd, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: Why we should love HUD's "Project Rebuild"
One of the main reasons we’re here at “Urban 2.0” is to discuss ways that cities can leverage their preexisting urban assets in order to promote job growth and inner city economic prosperity. Certainly, there’s much we can do at the local level: we can reuse our industrial land, we can try to leverage community-based capital, and we can support the emerging food cluster.
However, cities shouldn’t have to do everything on their own. Many of the economic issues our nation currently faces are systemic problems that cannot be addressed solely at the local level.
This is why programs at the federal level are so important in providing a jolt to our urban economies.
At the ICIC Summit, Ms. Valerie Piper joins us to explain what the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is doing to help our cities.
BY Amanda Maher on October 3rd, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: Building Capital in the Inner City
Guest Blogger: Alex Abboud
The first panel session was titled ‘Community-Based Capital for Small Business Financing’. In the introduction, moderator Matt Reilein of JP Morgan Chase noted an ICIC study that found 70% of inner-city businesses are undercapitalized, which provided excellent context for the discussion that followed.
Two ideas brought up by the panelists jumped out at me – Mary Houghton of ShoreBank’s talk about ‘social investment’, and Jonathan Brereton of ACCION Chicago’s discussion of the role, and challenges faced by, non-profit organizations.
BY Steven Pedigo on October 3rd, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: Thoughts Prior to Urban 2.0
Guest Blogger: Alex Abboud
With the (north) American economy stagnant, and business and industry in transition, it’s an interesting time to be discussing the future of cities, and their role in the economy. Most would say that cities have made a comeback in the last 20 years, after experiencing a decline in the previous four decades.
BY Steven Pedigo on October 3rd, 2011
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ICIC Summit Live: Kicking things off with ICIC President, Mary Kay Leonard
Here at the Chicago Cultural Center, Mary Kay Leonard is kicking off the “Urban 2.0” Inner City Economic Summit. There’s a great crowd. I’d estimate that there are at least 115+ folks in the theater getting ready to listed to the Access to Community-Based Capital panel....
BY Amanda Maher on October 3rd, 2011
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And We're Off...
“30 minutes is plenty of time,” I was reassured by a friend. It certainly wouldn’t take longer than that to get to LaGuardia Airport from Farmingdale, Long Island. On a Sunday night? There couldn’t be traffic.
Sure enough, I found myself stuck in typical New York City traffic trying to catch my plane to Chicago. But with five minutes to spare, I was whisked through security and made it to Gate D6 in time for takeoff!
I missed the second half of my beloved Patriots game, but thanks to @realpatriots, I was able to check in on my team before takeoff (with a healthy lead against Oakland, I felt confident that the Pats would pull out a win).
And so here I am….aboard Flight #353 heading to Chicago. Why? Well, for “Urban 2.0” of course!...
BY Amanda Maher on October 2nd, 2011
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NewBath: A New Orleans Firm Built on Determination and Resolve
NewBath CEO Larry Closs
Amidst constant chatter of American decline, political dysfunction, and economic malaise, one might think that firms across the country are waving a collective white flag of surrender to the wave of success from East Asia. Against all odds and despite all statistics describing the contrary, however, individuals and firms across the country have refused to give in to a narrative that misses the forest for the trees. Whatever happens externally, America, at its best, allows individuals to achieve their own goals and shape their own destinies.
Although all 661 individual firms on the Inner City 100 list have navigated recent crises admirably, one firm stood out for both its values and its grit. NewBath, ranking number 14 on the 2011 Inner City 100 list, presents a quintessentially American story of struggle and renewal.
Based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, this seemingly modest bathroom remodeling firm has grown at an annual rate of nearly 87% over the last 5 years. Ostensibly ordinary in its business, the firm has nevertheless been extraordinary in its commitment to success.
BY Sathya Vijayakumar on September 26th, 2011
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¡Bienvenidos a Miami! ICIC and Hispanic Small Biz Take Over the Sunshine State
Above: Gloria Estefan, with members of USHCC as she accepts the 2011 Ultimate Latina award
This past week I’ve been spending some time in Miami. No, no. Not vacation. I wish! Instead, I flew down on behalf of ICIC to join the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for its 32nd Annual Convention (you can follow Twitter feed updates at #USHCC32). Here, the Latino community came together to learn from one another and celebrate stories of job growth and economic value-creation.
The convention is especially important to ICIC because – for the first time – USHCC has teamed up with us as a nominating partner for the 2012 Inner City 100. As a partner, they nominate companies from within their own network for the program, and then galvanize local chambers to nominate companies as well.
How did we secure them as a nominating partner? Well, the connection between ICIC and USHCC runs deeper than you might imagine. Indeed, the current USHCC chairwoman is Nina Vaca-Humrichouse. Name sound familiar? Nina is a formal Inner City 100 Winner!...
BY Alex Rodriguez on September 22nd, 2011
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Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative Takes Chicago by Storm
Above: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanual at the 10,000 Small Businesses launch (Courtesy of The Chicago Tribune)
Last week it was announced that Chicago will be the sixth U.S. city selected to benefit from the 10,000 Small Businesses program. 10,000 Small Businesses, launched by Goldman Sachs in 2009 and already operating in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans and Long Beach, provides underserved small business owners with greater access to business education, financial capital and business support services. ICIC partners with Goldman Sachs to lead the application and selection process for the 10,000 Small Businesses education program.
Last Tuesday, ICIC joined Mayor Emanuel, Goldman Sachs, Chicago City Colleges and other partners to announce the Chicago kick-off. Along with the announcement came a Goldman Sachs commitment of $25 million to support Chicago program operations, including $20 million in loans to small businesses and $5 million in funding for the educational program at City Colleges of Chicago.
BY Mary Duggan on September 21st, 2011
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Bloomberg Gets It: Small Businesses Help Urban Economies Thrive
Above: Mayor Bloomberg at Terrafina, a food manufacturing company that recieved one of the four SBS workforce training grants last week. (Courtesey of NYC Dept. SBS)
The Big Apple, while unique in many ways, has an economy that is actually very much like many of America’s urban areas: the city is driven by its growing small businesses.
What makes New York City different, however, is how the city’s leadership has supported the small business climate.
Shortly after taking office, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg established the city’s Department of Small Business Services(SBS). Here, budding entrepreneurs can find the support and services needed to help train workers, access capital and handle permitting issues.
Sure, many cities have departments to help small businesses. But what makes NYC’s Department of SBS stand out is its ability to produce results. Behind the talk, there’s some real action.
BY Amanda Maher on September 20th, 2011
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Welcome, Atlantic CITIES!
The Atlantic – a longtime favorite source of news, politics and cultural commentary – last week embarked on a new journey that we are really excited about. With Sommer Mathis and Richard Florida at the helm, The Atlantic Cities is a new portal for people to explore all-things-city.
The site serves four purposes, according to Mathis:
1) A place to tell stories about where cities are today, where they’ve been and where they’re headed;
2) A forum to deliver latest news and events happening in cities across the globe;
3) A site for the smartest thinkers and researchers in urbanism to facilitate a bigger-picture, ideas-based conversation with readers; and
4) A new media outlet to tell these stories.
Why the focus on cities?
BY Amanda Maher on September 19th, 2011
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TPR Media/Ubicare: Innovation that Led to Urban Market Capitalization
Innovation is more than just a recipe for long-term, sustainable growth for a small business; it is essential for survival in today’s volatile (and increasingly Darwinian) economic environment. While I will avoid using the maxim “innovate or die,” it could never be truer than it is now – when banks are reluctant to lend money and demand nimble business models that show the ability to adjust quickly to the changing economic dynamics.
With social media and mobile technology strategy beginning to take hold in numerous boardrooms, firms that serve markets with such technology can find endless business opportunities that can result in unprecedented growth. This is an incredible opportunity for urban communities to capitalize on new market creation and continue to act as hubs for revenue generation for the businesses that reside within them.
This brings us to #22 on the 2011 Inner City 100 list, TPR Media/UbiCare of the inner-city Jamaica Plain neighborhood in Boston and its dynamic CEO, Betsy Weaver.....
BY Alex Rodriguez on September 15th, 2011
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After 10-year Remembrances Commence, a Look Back on Economic Impact of 9/11
Yesterday morning, I lied in bed watching the myriad newscasts reflecting back on September 11, 2001 – a day that will forever shape our nation’s history. It was certainly a sight to see President Obama walking alongside his immediate predecessor, President Bush, as the two took in the new waterfall memorials at Ground Zero. Then, they stood side-by-side on stage as family members of the 9/11 victims read the names of all those lost in the attacks.
As I watched the footage, it struck me how little I remembered about the immediate aftermath of the WTC towers’ collapse. I became engulfed in the news coverage as I heard stories of heartbreak, triumph, and perseverance. And yet, while I watched coverage, I couldn’t help but ask myself:
What was the economic impact of 9/11?
BY Amanda Maher on September 12th, 2011
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Building Up, Building Jobs
In last weekend's edition of the New York Times, economics correspondent Ryan Avent argues that one way the U.S. economy can get back on track, and create more jobs, is by promoting increased density in our cities.
Avent writes, “Cities have long been incubators and transmitters of ideas, and, correspondingly, engines of economic growth.”
My initial reaction is that this sounds like a line directly out of Ed Glaeser’s new book, Triumph of the City—a book that I’m currently halfway through. Though the idea is not new, it resonates stronger with me given my current reading selection. My follow-up reaction: It doesn’t matter where I first read the notion that density is imperative for cities to thrive. More importantly, the idea is being spread and hopefully landing on the deaf ears of the countless economic developers who are afraid to build their cities too tall, too dense.
BY Amanda Maher on September 9th, 2011
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One Inner City Firm Growing from "Heart, Soul and Customer Service”
With the 2012 Inner City 100 nominating season upon us, it is always great to share stories about our past winners who are giving back to their community as well as growing at astounding rates. Our firms, from San Diego to Manchester and Anchorage to Miami, are transforming their communities by expanding their operations and making themselves integral pillars of their urban communities. Inner City 100 firms have acted as shining examples of how growing enterprises can act as responsible corporate citizens that mend communities through profitability and action. This brings us to Beth Bailey of The Pediatric Connection...
BY Alex Rodriguez on September 8th, 2011
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How to Boost Your Sales Force
In case you missed the latest CEO Series Webinar, “Stand Out to Your Customers: Boost Your Sales Force,” below are some important takeaways. The webinar was presented by Joe Ippolito, Principal from Sandler Training, a leading provider of sales and management training worldwide. The presentation broke down a strategic process for closing more sales, as well as important factors influencing the sales process.
BY Mary Duggan on September 7th, 2011
TAGS: small business | ceo series | ask the expert | sales & marketing
IC100 Alum Creating Shared Value
Roxbury Technology Corporation (RTC) specializes in premium remanufactured toner cartridges and imaging solutions—but that’s only part of the story. The company began with a mission: create jobs and build the community while making top-quality, earth-friendly products. A commitment to the community has guided RTC as it continues to grow.
BY Mary Duggan on September 2nd, 2011
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The Economic Impact of Hurricane Irene
Bennington Police Chief Paul Doucette looks at a collapsed bridge on Route 9 in Woodford, Vt., on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011. (AP Photo)
Over the past few days, we held our breath in anticipation for Hurricane Irene to tear up the eastern seaboard. For some of us on the far-east edge of the storm, we’re sighing in relief. For some of our more inland friends (i.e. upstate New York and Vermont), we watch as new reports of unprecedented damage continue rolling in.
Meanwhile, we’ve been reading various reports on the economic impact of Hurricane Irene.
Originally, forecasters predicted that there would be $10 billion in economic damage due to the storm. Airlines alone took a hit before the storm even began: thousands of flights were cancelled in preparation for the storm, resulting in millions of dollars of losses for airline companies (which, in fairness, are not that different than the losses faced during snowstorms)....
BY Amanda Maher on August 30th, 2011
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And the Mayoral Inner City Leadership Award Goes To…
ICIC is proud to present Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory the Mayoral Inner City Leadership Award at this year’s Summit of the Inner City Economic Forum in Chicago. The October 3rd-4th Summit, Urban 2.0: Next Generation of Jobs and Businesses, will include a networking reception where Mayor Mallory will accept the award amongst a select group of corporate, civic and nonprofit leaders.
BY Mary Duggan on August 29th, 2011
TAGS: urban 2.0 | mayor | cincinnati | inner city economic summit | community development | economic development | cities
Surprise! It’s expensive to do business in Hawaii, but cheap to live in Kentucky
CNBC has announced its annual list of Top States for Business. In this year’s list, Virginia and Texas flip-flop from the year prior; now Virginia is listed as No. 1 and Texas No. 2. Rounding out top five are North Carolina, Georgia and Colorado, with our home state, Massachusetts, coming in close behind at No. 6.
According to MNBC, information was aggregated from a variety of sources, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the Council on Competitiveness. Each state was then ranked on a 1-50 scale based upon its: (State in parentheses indicates which took home the #1 spot for this category)....
BY Amanda Maher on August 25th, 2011
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An Economic Development Case for Building Sports Stadiums—Or Not
Above: Site of the propsed Atlantic Yards Complex in Brooklyn
Just last month, we posted a blog entry asking readers whether building convention centers in inner city neighborhoods are worth the public subsidies required to do so. Since then, an almost identical conversation has been happening about whether sports stadiums are worth the public investment.
In an article posted in The Nation, Neil DeMause asks, “Why Do Mayors Love Sports Stadiums?” He argues that tax breaks, free land, government-subsidized tax-free loans and discounts to offset operating costs are not recouped by cities after stadiums are built. Indeed, many stadium plans include benefits to the surrounding community but these plans never bear fruit.
The Atlantic Yards project, which will bring the New Jersey Nets basketball team to Brooklyn, was suppose to include a “Miss Brooklyn” office tower that would attract jobs, as well as 6,000 new residential condos, 30% of which were designed to be affordable units. After New York’s real estate market collapsed, these plans were scrapped. Meanwhile, the stadium is on track to be completed by 2012, thanks to $511 million in tax-exempt bonds.
BY Amanda Maher on August 23rd, 2011
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Only Local Lettuce for NYC Agencies, Please
Local tomatoes and beets too, while you’re at it.
In typical New York City fashion, Mayor Bloomberg has taken steps to support the trendiest topic of the day—local food. A slew of bills were passed yesterday that are sure to sustain the city’s rapidly growing urban food cluster.
The first piece of legislation requires the city to collect metrics on how food is produced, processed, distributed and consumed in the region. The next bill alters procurement practices in order for city agencies to purchase more of their food from local farms and processing facilities.
BY Amanda Maher on August 18th, 2011
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Investing in Inner Cities as a Business Model, Profits First Priority = "Shared Value"
In this weekend's New York Times piece "First, Make Money. Also, Do Good," Steve Lohr highlights the concept of shared value--that a company can do well by doing good as part of its core business. Championed by ICIC Founder Michael Porter and consultant Mark Kramer, the concept is illustrated here by exciting examples from General Electric, IBM, and Intuit.
Professor Porter and ICIC both agree that shared value opportunities also extend to large academic and medical institutions, otherwise known as "anchor institutions".
BY Steven Pedigo on August 16th, 2011
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Urban 2.0: Next Generation of Jobs and Businesses
Job creation is at the forefront of all economic discussions. As headlines read “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs,” the country is looking for ways to create the next generation of jobs and jumpstart America’s economic recovery. Yet in this time of austerity, cities must look to the resources they have to generate economic opportunity.
BY Mary Duggan on August 15th, 2011
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Debt Ceiling Impacts Cities at Just the Wrong Time
Amid both the cheers and jeers last week, there was seemingly little discussion of the impact the debt ceiling bill is going to have on our inner cities. Almost half of the impending $2 trillion in cuts are expected to come from domestic, discretionary spending (all programs other than entitlements and defense). One third of this discretionary spending typically goes to local municipalities. Not anymore.
BY Amanda Maher on August 10th, 2011
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Urban Food Clusters and New Urbanism
Featured Guest Blogger: Sharon McMillan, New Urban Mom
Sometimes it seems that as a nation we do what’s best for our health and longevity in spite of our own best interest.
Even as we lumber through environmental blunders and other issues of the day, our highest ideals emerge to take root in life changing initiatives like the local food movement. One of the rarely discussed but potent factors influencing the mindset of individuals to “look locally” for healthy change is the New Urbanism movement.
Simply put, New Urbanism is a movement by planners, architects and concerned citizens to make our communities walkable places where we can live, work and enjoy the natural environments that are close to us.
BY Steven Pedigo on August 8th, 2011
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Parklets: The Newest Urban Trend
Joe McNulty, Corridor Manager for the University City District, transplants flora into the large metal planters that are part Philadelphia’s first “parklet.” (Michael Bryant / Philly.com Staff photographer)
A parklet? Have you ever seen a tiny parking spot and thought “no way any car could fit in that spot,” but then later you walk by and a Mini Cooper has pulled in? It’s kind of like that…but for parks. The mini city parks are often created by filling a few under-utilized parallel parking spots with a patio, planters, trees, benches, and other wonders of Mother Nature.
Philadelphia has just become one of the hip cities embracing this trend.
BY Mary Duggan on August 5th, 2011
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What this week’s debt ceiling compromise means for small business owners
Over the past several months, we have heard our political leaders of all stripes shouting at each other over a raise to our country’s debt ceiling. Despite waiting until the very last moment, Republican leaders in the House and Democratic leaders in the Senate conjured up just enough support to push a bill forward this Sunday. Both Chambers passed the bill on Tuesday, which was then forwarded to the Oval Office for President Obama’s John Hancock before the midnight default deadline.
The deal raises the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion until 2013, includes spending cuts of $2.5 trillion ($900 billion right away), and establishes a bipartisan committee to find the rest of the cuts. If the committee’s recommendations fail to be enacted into law, there would be across-the-board cuts in spending later in the year.
As it stands today, the United States is running a $14.5 trillion debt which comes out to $46, 707 in debt per citizen and $130,232 in debt per taxpayer. With large entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare facing insolvency in the not-too-distant future, this should be of concern to every American. Of utmost concern is the full faith and credit of the United States to pay back its debts—and the fear that this drama will be replayed each time the debt ceiling must be raised. What does this mean for small business, you may ask?
BY Alex Rodriguez on August 3rd, 2011
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Venturing to Our Inner Cities, One Startup at a Time
We’ve all heard about great programs for budding entrepreneurs that assist with getting small businesses off the ground. In Boston we have MassChallenge—a global startup competition that nurtures entrepreneurs and provides entrepreneurs with advice, access to capital and myriad networking events. Using a similar model, Excelerate Labs in Chicago harbors 10 startup companies each summer and links them with mentors, capital and connections—in exchange for 6% ownership in the company. TJust today I read about another program called DailyCandy that hosts a “Start Small, Go Big” contest that pairs burgeoning small businesses (involved in fashion, food, home and beauty) with industry mogul mentors as well as PR, marketing, finance and technology support.
These programs are undeniably important to the startup community and to the economic vitality of our cities. After all, it has been said, time and time again, that small businesses are the #1 driver of economic growth.
What these programs apparently lack, however, is an emphasis on placing entrepreneurs in inner city locations. Companies participate in these programs and then take off to Silicon Valley, New York, Houston, etc. where startup networks are more developed, venture capital seemingly flows endlessly and companies then grow and thrive.
A new program sets out to change all that.
BY Amanda Maher on August 1st, 2011
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Inner City Convention Centers: Worth the Public Subsidies?
Above: San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders discusses the importance of the San Diego Convention Center to the community
Our home city of Boson is particularly vibrant this week with about 6,000 extra bodies moving in to attend the three-day National Urban League Annual Conference. The conference, focused on economic empowerment and entitled Jobs Rebuild America, is being hosted at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. While urban political and business leaders are discussing how to grow jobs in underserved communities, the $3.3 million conference is giving a boost to the Boston economy.
But the real question is, are the subsidies required for such convention centers worth the local economic returns?
BY Mary Duggan on July 28th, 2011
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