LSCP Quarterly Update
Posted by Amy Clickner on May 13, 2013
This past week we held our first Quarterly Investor Briefing. As part of our reorganize, restructure, rebrand, results campaign over the last two years, you may recall we moved from a “membership” structure to an “investor” structure recognizing that those that contribute to economic development in our community should be treated as such. This includes providing regular information about the health of the organization, our key performance indicators and how this all compares to benchmark communities around the Midwest.
The audience was small, but genuinely interested in learning more about our first quarter activity. One of our newest investors, Daniele Miljour of Daniele Carol Photography said, “It was great to hear the factual data and see those numbers on our local economic growth. It makes me more confident to know that in this crazy Economic time for our country, our community is doing so well.”
We closed the meeting hosting a networking hour so we could engage in additional conversation with our partners.
In the first quarter of 2013, we had nine new partners with a total investment of $5,267. We are continuing to convert partners to our new value investment packages.
Our social media ‘likes’ and views continue to increase with our website page views decreasing. Even though we have seen a decrease in website views, the increase in social media usage for information balances that out. Look for a new website from the LSCP in the coming month that will include a new look, new business directory, podcasts and will be easier to navigate.
We have had a record quarter for our Business Development team. In the first quarter they visited 113 clients (86 retention, 24 start-up and 3 attraction). With those visits, 66 jobs have been created and 8,395 impacted for a total investment of $2,312,500. Year end in 2012, they had visited 265 clients so they are well on their way to surpassing that in 2013. These clients are all over Marquette County with the 46% in the City of Marquette, Marquette Township and Chocolay Township, 35% on the west end of the county and 19% in the south.
Legislation affecting businesses keeps us hopping! We’re tracking education reform, Medicaid reform, the federal debt crisis, transportation funding, personal property tax, internet online sales tax and wetland reform just as an example. We constantly share information with our board and on our government relations webpage to ensure our partners are informed about issues that affect our area.
A few additional highlights from the first quarter include the filming of a CBS Detroit Feature that will air June 2, the completion of our 2013 economic outlook survey, roll out of our value investment packages, graduation of our 10th class of Line Technician School, Caralee Swanberg’s Global Business Professional Certification, the introduction of our new BizMiner service and our Ambassadors trip to Lansing.
Dates to remember:
- Friday, May 17 – Quarterly Lunch featuring Doug DeYoung from the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance. Doug will discuss Medicaid reform, education reform, 2014 ballot initiatives, transportation policy, energy policy and more.
- Thursday, June 6 – Golf Outing at Greywalls, one of two large fundraisers we do each year. This is a great networking event and a chance to play Greywalls if you have not yet done so. We currently have a few sponsorships and foursomes available.
To RSVP for either event or for more information on how the LSCP can help your business, contact our office at lscp@marquette.org or 906.226.6591. Or you may always visit our website, www.marquette.org, for additional information.
