Shannon NickinsonNorthwest Florida has a lot going for it.
That was among the bits of wisdom and moments of insight offered throughout the recent Gulf Power Economic Symposium at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Destin.
What we do with all that potential and goodwill created by our area’s natural beauty and a workforce influenced by connections to the military … is up to us.
Gov. Rick Scott touted the power of Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development and recruitment entity.
“Is Navy Federal a big deal for Pensacola?” Scott asked rhetorically. “It would not have happened (without Enterprise Florida).
“We are winning. We are absolutely winning. There is no place like Florida, but we can’t rest on our laurels,” Scott said. “If we ever get complacent, this will go away. If we elect the wrong people, it will go away.”
Entrepreneur Quint Studer pitched the principles of “Soul of the Community,” a three-year project of Gallup that looked at why some communities thrive and others don’t. Cities that prosper have:
- A university near the downtown area;
- A vibrant downtown;
- Businesses that obtain revenue from outside the area; and,
- Access to capital for businesses with growth potential.
They offer people a reason to go downtown for play or work that entices them to live there, too.
“If you don’t bring residential downtown, those great startups don’t last,” Studer said.
The University of West Florida’s Rick Harper offered the data that show how the Northwest Florida economy has changed over time and what forces continue to drive it.
“We can’t be job snobs,” Harper said. “But we need more.”
As Harper’s analysis of Census data shows, we sort ourselves by demographics and income.
“That has never been more true than it is in the U.S. today,” he said. “It means we set up pockets of poverty.”
The economic reality of today, though, demands something more.
“Everybody needs lifetime training and needs to be ready to renew that training every decade,” Harper said.
Why? Because nationally, Harper notes, income has been stagnant for decades.
“To counter that in the 1960s, we sent our spouses into the workforce,” Harper said. “In the 1980s, the national savings rate fell to 5 percent from 14 percent, which put that money into the economy. Until 2006, people took out home equity lines of credit and spent that money.
“What we have to find is the next trick to getting spending up and productivity up, because it is a virtuous circle,” Harper said. “One person’s business creates another person’s income.”
The symposium’s closing session was a panel of site selection professionals, moderated by Bill Johnson, Secretary of Commerce and CEO of Enterprise Florida.
It was a chance to hear from people who handle multimillion-dollar economic development projects about what the clients look for when they shop for a location.
The quality of life of Northwest Florida was a commonly mentioned selling point. But the panel agreed we need more than charm to compete.
“Everything we do is statistics based,” said Woody Hydrick, partner and senior principal with Global Location Strategies in Greenville, S.C. “It’s one thing for a community to give you their perspective. For us you have to prove it. We use uniform data sources to make sure that the recommendations we’re making to clients are fact-based.”
That includes economic factors, such as labor cost; non-economic factors, such as labor quality; and the scalability of that labor pool.
Regionalism is a great strength, because as Derith Jarvis, managing partner of Mohr Partners in Atlanta, noted, many large projects won’t look at an area with a population density smaller than 500,000 people.
Regionalism requires strong collaboration – and humility.
“Sometimes the best thing community leaders can do is get out of the way,” Hydrick said. “Your economic development professionals in this part of the state are very professional and very good at their jobs. At the end of the day, community leadership can get things done. (But) allow these professionals to go through their paces, and be there for them when they need it.”
The alternative was lined out by Jeff Pappas with Cresa Dallas. He recounted an experience he had with a client in the Tampa area, where a project stretched over three jurisdictions and three sets of public officials.
“Three counties have to show their county off,” Pappas said. “So I had to explain to my clients that a meeting that should take an hour will take three.
“Somebody has to wear the biggest hat,” Pappas said. “You have to be humble. You have to make sure you know what your community has to offer and give it to somebody else if need be.”
Which makes economic development the ultimate pay-it-forward enterprise.
Shannon Nickinson is the editor of PensacolaToday.com, a news and commentary website in Pensacola, Florida. Follow her on Twitter @snickinson.com. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
