Loading
Second-stage local companies will drive future economic growth on the Gulf Coast, a consultant told executives in Naples.
Entrepreneurs know this, of course, but the political class on the Gulf Coast may need to wake up to this fact and tear down the growth barriers they raised in recent years.
Second-stage companies are privately held businesses with 10 to 99 employees and have revenues of $1 million to $50 million. They're companies that are past the start-up phase but need help managing rapid growth.
While they represent about 11% of companies nationally, second-stage companies account for nearly 38% of jobs. “These are disproportionately productive companies,” says Steve Quello, founder and president of CEO Nexus, who advises economic development groups.
Quello was speaking to a meeting of executives with the Economic Development Council of Collier County, which is exploring ways to help growing companies in the area.
Quello says such economic “gardening” has been successful in places such as Littleton, Colo., which eliminated all incentives and efforts to recruit companies from outside the region to the area. Instead, the city's economic development efforts focused solely on helping existing second-stage local companies grow.
The move paid off. In the 15 years from 1990 to 2005, after the city abandoned its outside recruitment efforts, Littleton's employment grew 135% compared with 47% for Colorado and 21% for the U.S.
Of all the counties on the Gulf Coast that need to hear this message, it's surely Collier. The county has the highest taxes on new construction in the state and a notoriously slow bureaucracy that deters fast-moving entrepreneurs.
We'd bet Collier's 12.1% unemployment might force the change entrepreneurs are seeking.
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning business news.
Join thousands of executives who rely on us for insights spanning Tampa Bay to Naples.
