Carson City's new business resource center now open
The city's new Business Resource and Innovation Center is now open for business.
Located across Proctor Street from City Hall, the center brings together the building, planning, business license and business development departments under one roof for the first time. The center also makes resources from the Carson City Library available for those who need to do research for starting or expanding their businesses.
The idea is to create a one-stop shop to help those starting new businesses to get the help they need, according to Joe McCarthy, manager of the Office of Business Development.
It is also a turning point of sorts for the Carson City's economic development efforts, shifting directions from the system of offering financial incentives to businesses, to something called "economic gardening."
On Thursday, the center hosted a seminar featuring Christine Hamilton-Pennell, founder and president of Growing Local Economics, Inc., who introduced center employees to the economic gardening concept.
She pointed out that the vast majority of net new jobs are created by small businesses with less than 10 employees. As such, she said the focus of community economic development should be on helping people start these businesses.
Hamilton-Pennell previously worked in economic development for the city of Littleton, Colorado, where they grew jobs by 71 percent since 1990, while population grew only 23 percent. She said the city did this by relying on economic gardening techniques, without using financial incentives.
To do economic gardening, Hamilton-Pennell said cities need to support local entrepreneurs by giving them access to the information and help they need to get started. They seek to reduce bureaucracy by getting city departments to collaborate in order to serve the needs of local businesses.
"What we are looking for, is a way we can work as a team, the city, to send a message to our customers and our clients that we are here to help them with their business," McCarthy said. "We want to take advantage of a new way of looking at economic development, and economic gardening is a big part of that."
The new center has computers with access to databases containing business research and demographic information that is very valuable for businesses investigating potential markets. It also features facilities suitable for small businesses to use for meetings, and in the future, video conferencing.
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