Each Thursday, we put one of our local newsmakers On The Spot. This week: Senior Economic Developer for Cayuga County Jon Christopher.
This week's question: You've been in charge of economic development for Cayuga County for more than seven months. What do you see as the biggest obstacles to your success and how do you plan to overcome them?
For more than 150 years, America has been the wheel of the world's economy, with New York at its hub. In the last decade, the economic rules that created our success have changed. As we compete for jobs against other countries, the state business climate has drawbacks familiar to all - regulatory issues, taxes, energy costs, debt and spending. Let us focus on where we have more control - in our own back yard. What can we do to shape Cayuga County's economic future?
The challenge facing Cayuga County's economic development is to separate the realities of New York's business climate from the realities of all we have to offer. Positive attitudes and positive vision combine to form a cornerstone for our economic progress. Economic development is all about jobs. Consider three facts that influence a company's decision on staying in a location or choosing a new one:
- Quality of place: All the aspects of a community so important to the 20- to 40-year-old workers companies must attract to be successful. Our Finger Lakes region offers affordable housing, short commutes, superior cultural, educational and recreational resources, to name a few.
- Available workforce: Central upstate residents are both competent workers and highly educated, currently supporting more than 2,200 emerging technology companies. The region has more than 60 colleges and universities.
- Location, Location, Location: More than 100 million people live within a six hour drive of Cayuga County, presenting companies awesome access to clients, markets and business partners.
We have all these things in our favor, and more. Companies will choose to stay or locate in Cayuga County based on these facts. Of course government and private enterprise must accept our responsibility to spread the word. Be honest now, when was the last time you bragged up Cayuga County? When did you mention what a great place this is to an out-of-state relative? We need not reinvent our community. We need only remind ourselves daily why we choose to live here. Economic development is not an event or a project. It is an attitude. The attitude forms a plan. A plan requires commitment and money. Henry Ford once quipped “#think you can or think you can't, you are right.”
It all starts with attitude.
For more than 150 years, America has been the wheel of the world's economy, with New York at its hub. In the last decade, the economic rules that created our success have changed. As we compete for jobs against other countries, the state business climate has drawbacks familiar to all - regulatory issues, taxes, energy costs, debt and spending. Let us focus on where we have more control - in our own back yard. What can we do to shape Cayuga County's economic future?
The challenge facing Cayuga County's economic development is to separate the realities of New York's business climate from the realities of all we have to offer. Positive attitudes and positive vision combine to form a cornerstone for our economic progress. Economic development is all about jobs. Consider three facts that influence a company's decision on staying in a location or choosing a new one:
- Quality of place: All the aspects of a community so important to the 20- to 40-year-old workers companies must attract to be successful. Our Finger Lakes region offers affordable housing, short commutes, superior cultural, educational and recreational resources, to name a few.
- Available workforce: Central upstate residents are both competent workers and highly educated, currently supporting more than 2,200 emerging technology companies. The region has more than 60 colleges and universities.
- Location, Location, Location: More than 100 million people live within a six hour drive of Cayuga County, presenting companies awesome access to clients, markets and business partners.
We have all these things in our favor, and more. Companies will choose to stay or locate in Cayuga County based on these facts. Of course government and private enterprise must accept our responsibility to spread the word. Be honest now, when was the last time you bragged up Cayuga County? When did you mention what a great place this is to an out-of-state relative? We need not reinvent our community. We need only remind ourselves daily why we choose to live here. Economic development is not an event or a project. It is an attitude. The attitude forms a plan. A plan requires commitment and money. Henry Ford once quipped “#think you can or think you can't, you are right.”
It all starts with attitude.
The Citizens' Say
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