Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
What you have to sell is a geographic location which has certain economic assets which <br />will cause a company to be profitable if they are located there. So, when you "determine <br />what you have to sell," you are actually making an inventory of these assets. <br />In order to "identify who will want to buy what you have to sell," you need to examine <br />the various industrial sectors to determine what types of companies need what you have. <br />These are the companies to which you market. <br />The Start -Up is designed to cause the creation of new <br />contributory companies, which have a chance to grow and develop as <br />the years pass. <br />Several communities in the United States have created dynamic <br />economies by "growing their own" primary businesses. By assisting <br />and coaching imaginative entrepreneurs, an idea can grow into a <br />thriving business. Dell Computer was once a "Start -Up" company. <br />The visible and financial rewards to the community of such a <br />program are in the future. Patience is required. <br />Essentially, a Start -Up Program assists a local person who has an <br />idea for a new product or service which can be marketed outside the <br />area (primary.) Most of the time the individual does not have the <br />financial resources or the knowledge to take this "great new idea" <br />from a great thought to a great product. This is where the community comes in. <br />A community should have a team of professionals, ready to guide the individual through <br />the process of determining if the idea has merit, the development of the product, and the <br />eventual marketing of the product. Usually a building (incubator) is needed along with <br />venture, investment capital to convert the idea into an active business. <br />Typically, a Start -Up program requires a relationship with an institution of higher <br />learning (university or large community college), but it is not absolutely necessary. <br />Usually areas with a major research university have an active start -up program as <br />university related research oftentimes can be commercialized. <br />Overall, an economic development program should limit its activities to servicing <br />existing, attracting new, and causing the creation of primary, wealth generating <br />employers. All of the other jobs in the area, which consume the money flowing into the <br />area, will "take care of themselves" as a result of the expanding marketplace. <br />Flocs of Dough - Page 25 - Vwsfaa Augwst 20, 2007 <br />