Thursday, October 30, 2003
A report compiled by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development finds that start-up companies have some common traits. They include:
-- more than $100,000 in start-up capital
-- owners who seek advice from outside experts
-- firms that start with fewer than five employees
-- firms that use outside sources of financing, such as commercial bank loans
-- firms that produced new or improved products or services, and
-- firms that had access to high-speed Internet services
The report is based on a survey of almost 1,700 companies statewide that opened between 1994 and 1998 and were still operating in 2001. Read more.
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Minnesota report on start-ups
