Tag Archives: local economy

How Networking Changed My Local Economy

A few years ago my partners and I decided to move the headquarters for our marketing company from a large city in the Midwest to a much smaller city in the Southwest. We wanted to be closer to the technology that is the backbone of our industry. Once we had our physical office established we quickly moved to introducing our small business to the local community by participating in established networking functions and creating one that was open to everyone. Some amazing developments followed that benefited many people.

Once of the areas of controversy when we arrived was around the lack of activity at the county fairgrounds smack dab in the middle of our city. It was costing money to maintain and not generating enough revenue to make it viable. At one of the networking events we hosted, we had the opportunity to introduce two young men with an idea for events that would resurrect the fairgrounds to a member of the County Fair Board.

In their presentation the entrepreneurs showed all of us how they could build a track for competitive “dirt” events and offer it as a venue for organizations running these types of programs. The good news was their explanation of how it would generate millions of dollars for the fairgrounds, support services and taxes for the city. It would bring in new business and create jobs. This was good for everyone.

Networking changed local economy

The Fair Board member took the concept to the City Council and helped get it approved. Within a few short months the fairgrounds attracted bigger crowds than it has in years. Kingman Racing turned it into a venue for generating cash income, created jobs, increased tourist traffic to the area and introduced activities for youth in the city that previously had limited options.

You may wonder why one business owner would take the time to help out another entrepreneur. Here is the point – when one small business becomes successful, many others are affected. In the example of the fairgrounds, the local hotels, gas stations, restaurants, bike shops and other retail merchants experienced an increase in sales during an event. The city got to add more sales tax money to its coffers.

As local merchants become more prosperous they, as well as their employees have more money to spend in the local grocery stores, clothing stores, book stores and entertainment. Businesses can inject more cash into promoting their products and this helps marketing firms like mine. The moral of this story is always be willing to help your neighbors achieve success. Click here to read another interesting story about Wyoming Secretary of State.