Beth's Blog
Find out the latest, straight from the EDC’s Director.
Beth Kirkland
Executive Director
Tallahassee Economic Development Council
November 04, 2008
The 80/20 Rule
Thank you Dave Hodges, Business Editor for Tallahassee.com, for the article on YourEconomy.org. Economic Developer's rule of thumb is 80 percent of new jobs come from growth of existing businesses within a community with the remaining 20 percent generated through start-ups and relocations. For this reason 75 percent of the EDC budget goes toward existing industry development efforts like the Enterprise Zone and First Focus on Local Business. The EDC is the administering agency for Leon County's 20 square mile Enterprise Zone. Between 2004 and 2008, 296 jobs have been created in the zone and $2.85 million in tax refunds or credits have been issued to encourage development within the zone. In January of 2006 First Focus on Local Business was launched in partnership with WorkforcePlus, TCC's Center for Economic & Workforce Development and a number of regional and university programs that assist local businesses. Since its inception, First Focus has helped local businesses secure over $12 million to assist with such things as finding and training new employees, investment in machinery used in manufacturing a product, or writing a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. Additional Web resources about our local economy, including targeted business sectors, workforce training, research and development, business and industrial parks are www.taledc.com, www.capitalregionmanufacturers.com; www.bigbendhealth.com, and www.floridaprospector.com.
September 18, 2008
Welcome to Our New Website
Hopefully you've had a chance to review the site, check out the different maps, zoom, fly over and rotate. I've been learning along with you and am excited about the possibilities. I had the opportunity recently to share the region with a European company and the use of the aerial mapping feature made all the difference in our conversation.
June 12, 2008
Welcome to our New Web site
As the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County continues to grow as a driving force in Florida's innovative economy, our newly designed Web site reflects our new visions for this dynamic region.
