Gardening

In a recruitment interview the other day, the subject turned to economic development and — in this case — the County Administrator’s role in these efforts. In chatting afterwards, we discussed economic gardening. The concept that, at times, your best chance of 50-100+ net new jobs in a community is often by assisting existing companies in growing. This focuses on expanding local businesses from within—especially those that are already established and poised for expansion. As we often “hunt” for the next big thing in terms of a megaproject, sometimes our best opportunities are already in our front-yard.