EDC focuses on new business

By Scott Nicholson

The Watauga County Economic Development Commission has kept its focus despite an uncertain economy, believing that job creation is best served through new business start-ups.

Fowler Cooper, chairman of the EDC, said in his five years the committee has maintained its entrepreneurial programs in partnership with local agencies.

“What our focus has become is more entrepreneurial,” Cooper said.

“We’ve been working with AdvantageWest for a program called Certified Entrepreneurial Community. Basically, we are pretty well on the road to getting the recognition. The idea is to create a culture of entrepreneurship — not to the exclusion of anything else.

“We’d love to have a manufacturer that employs 1,000 people, but at the same time there’s a lot of opportunity, especially given our infrastructure here.”

Cooper said despite the recent slowdown in construction, the building industry has proven to be a local need, especially in specialized trades that are typically fired from outside the county.

“We have done a fair amount of work in the last couple of years,” Cooper said.

“One thing that has been big has been the construction industries and we’ve been working with the local high school and colleges to get more home-grown trainees. We want to be able to help our own people as much as possible.”

“There seems to be a shortage of knowledge-based businesses,” he said. “Some companies that need software help have to go elsewhere to get it. We’re working with Appalachian State University to put together a survey to help us determine what the needs are. We hope someone would start a company not only because it would be a good start-up because there is a need for that, but also this is the kind of business that, if I’m in New York or San Francisco, I could do business with this company. The growth potential far exceeds just our own businesses. This is the kind of thing that could reach far past Watauga County, but there’s a still a need here.”

The EDC also participates in the Appalachian Enterprise Center, which combines efforts of several different business-creation agencies. Cooper said despite the recession, there has been steady interest in new businesses.

“Through the Committee of 100, we’re constantly trying to get tenants,” Cooper said. “There’s been interest all along.”

One EDC subcommittee is developing a “Green Certification” program, with five businesses already certified. The goal is to develop a brand of the region’s businesses as environmentally friendly and connected to its tourist economy.

The EDC works in conjunction with the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, Watauga County Tourism Development Authority and other local groups to promote the overall business climate and solidify the market identity.

Cooper said the EDC takes long-range plans instead of reacting directly to the recession, though the committee is taking some actions to explore affordable housing and specific areas to respond to immediate economic problems.

“In the main, it appears as if Watauga County is weathering better than a lot of counties,” Cooper said. “I’m not saying we’re doing what we want to do, because people are losing their jobs. I believe, in this kind of environment, if people are not hiring, maybe a blessing is opportunity for entrepreneurs. In that sense, we want to keep what we’re doing.”

The EDC has a couple of grant or subsidy programs, based primarily on job creation. The EDC can support some projects, such as a recent grant-and-loan venture with Tweetsie Railroad to help the theme park secure its future in the county, but that’s not the main thrust of its efforts.

“It all clearly has limits, so we have to be very careful how we dispense funds,” Cooper said. “In my view, it’s job creation. If our job is to promote the economic well-being of Watauga County, what we have to do is the best we can to accomplish that. With much discussion, we have concluded that the best opportunity to accomplish that is through encouraging, training and helping entrepreneurial efforts. That’s been going on for a while now.”

Traditional economic development strategies focused on luring big companies, but that has proven risky when those same companies downsize or move away, often leaving high unemployment in the wake. The mountains also don’t have the transportation infrastructure that many businesses desire.

“As a practical matter, that focus needs to be existent with the (current) economic situation,” Cooper said. “At this point, it’s probably not productive to go to Atlanta (Ga.) or Charlotte and try to get somebody to move here when they’re trying to hang on where they are. That’s not productive anyway, and certainly not in this environment.”

Cooper said, in five years, he’d like to see a fairly broad base with Watauga County seen as a very strong support system for starting a new business.

“Or, if you’ve already started it, and still need advisory help, that this is a good place to do it,” Cooper said. “We’re fortunate because we have the university and small-business development agencies. If it goes the way of specialized parks, like the Research Triangle, that would be fantastic. But personally I’d like us to be known as a very business-friendly place, and I think, practically speaking, that has some high probabilities.”