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From the Director
Articles by Sheryl Vollertsen
Economic Development Coordinator
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Definition
of Success
by Sheryl Vollertsen
Economic Development Coordinator |
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This
is the season of harvest…..pumpkins….Halloween.
Youngsters of all ages will dress in costume for
Trick or Treat.
This
makes me think of what my children considered
a successful Halloween. It was usually the amount
of “food” they collected, or when
their costumes were so grand that not even their
Grandparents could tell it was them.
Farmers
determine success in Bushels per Acre; businesses
may look at Net Profit or New Customers; some
may look at New Lines of Inventory. Individually,
we may look at Reaching a Certain Age; or the
Number of Wins of our favorite sports team.
How
can a community determine success? Is it new
businesses opening? Expanding a celebration?
A new owner for an existing business? Or does
it have to be a “Smoke-stack” to
be a success?
30
years ago, recruiting business was called “Industrial
Development”. It was a time of growth
in industry and many were expanding to new locations.
When success came it was known by the “smoke-stack”
that grew out of the building.
Today’s
recruitment focuses on filling a need, expanding
inventory, the successful transition from one
owner to another. Many of these have happened
in Oxford this last year. Little Rigs, The Cornhusker,
Oxford Super Market, Steamer’s, Mort’s
Lodge, Heartland Family Medicine, Mark’s
Pharmacy – to name a few. Plus the expansion
of Mid-Nebraska Individual Services. There is
also the major remodeling of the Gupton building.
The
point is: all of these individuals and businesses
are “investing” in the future of
Oxford! That is success!! There are lots of
other activities underway in the form of expansions
or new developments that are not yet in the
“Announce-to-the-public” stage.
So
when I think of success, I think of Oxford!
I hope you do too!!
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What
Comes First in Economic Development?
by Sheryl Vollertsen
Economic Development Coordinator |
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What
came first…..the chicken or the egg?
Sometimes a similar question is asked by those
doing economic development. Do we first get
the business, and then seek out employees?
Or do we need potential employees first in
order to get the business? Or is it important
to update our housing in order to get the
employees? The right answer in today’s
world is “all of the above”.
To
understand this, let’s look at what
a business takes into consideration. If you
are one of the few communities a business
is considering, they first check to see if
you have the “utility structure”
they need. (so it is important to keep those
things like gas, electric and telecommunications
access up to date.)
The
next thing is the tax structure of your state
and transportation costs. (Transportation
costs are partially determined by your geographic
location, and this is the one thing you can’t
change.)
Then
they look at people that will be relocating.
What type of housing is available? And what
is there for children, in the way of library,
swimming pool, ballfields, parks? (this is
why we evaluate the condition of the trees
in our parks, the playground equipment, the
swimming facilities.)
It’s
sort of like getting your house ready to be
sold. It doesn’t matter if the windows
are sparkling clean if you dump trash on your
front lawn. Painting the outside of the house
won’t compensate for an interior that
hasn’t had new paint on the walls for
20 years. It all has to be looked at as a
“unit”. And so it is for economic
development.
Each
thing you do gets you ready for the “Sale”.
That’s why economic development is called
a process. As for the chicken or egg question,
the process of “community development”
has to occur to achieve success.
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Being
an Entrepreneur
by Sheryl Vollertsen, Economic Development Coordinator
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E-what?
The
“technology age” has brought with
it a whole new language that is not always easy
to understand. There is E-Commerce (selling
electronically); E-Bay (auctioning electronically);
and Entrepreneurship is now getting talked about
a lot.
Webster's
Dictionary defines an Entrepreneur as “one
who organizes, manages and assumes the risks
of a business.” Others will tell you that
if you have ever left a business thinking “if
they would do such-and-such, they could sell
more products”, then you have the fortitude
to be an entrepreneur. Others will tell you
it is a trait you are born with; it is an art;
or it is being focused.
“Entrepreneur.com”
says that the one ability, skill, or interest
by entrepreneurs that are successful is the
ability to perceive the world as a System. This
is someone who sees the world as the “whole
of its parts”. They see purpose and meaning.
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Community
Pride
by Sheryl Vollertsen, Economic Development Coordinator |
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Now that most of the high school proms have taken
place, we know it will soon be time for Alumni
Banquets. Are you ready?
A
few years ago I had a conversation with a graduate
had returned for their 20th Alumni Banquet.
When asked if they enjoyed it, their reply was:
“What’s happened to the town? Where’s
the community pride? It looks like my town doesn’t
like itself anymore.” When asked to explain
what they meant, the former resident replied
that there were weeds in the sidewalks, abandoned
vehicles in plain site, downtown windows were
dirty, and the old flowers from last year were
still sitting in the containers.
Have
you looked at yourself lately? No, not the reflection
in the mirror, but the appearance of your business
or home through the eyes of a stranger. Some
will say they never go through their front door,
so they don’t know what their front side
looks like. Well now is the time to do so.
There
are many people coming for the Alumni Banquet,
Turkey Days, and city-wide garage sales in May
and June, so there is a good reason for you
to do some sprucing up!
Oxford
is being “judged” by everyone who
stops or passes through. This is one of the
most important aspects that determines if a
business is willing to settle here. They may
not know anything about the community, but if
it doesn’t have PRIDE, they make the assumption
that they don’t want to be here. It doesn’t
involve spending a lot of money, but simple
things like keeping your buildings painted,
mowing the yard regularly, basically just doing
some cleaning up.
This
week, take a minute to pretend you don’t
know your business or place of residence. Drive
by slowly looking at it as if you were thinking
to buy it. Would you make an offer on it? Take
some pride in where you live and you’ll
feel better about where you live. And your neighbors
will thank you for it!
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Oxford.
The best
of both worlds. |
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