Economic Development Focus: Retaining and Expanding Local Businesses

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Chamber Amplified from the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce, host Doug Jenkins talks with Chris Keller, the director of Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development, to discuss the landscape of economic development within the community. With a pulse on the developments in Findlay and Hancock County, Chris shares her insights from her first year in the role, focusing on stakeholder engagement and her vision for sustaining and growing local businesses.

Economic development is not just about welcoming new businesses, as Chris and Doug highlight; it's crucially centered on retaining and supporting existing businesses to thrive. The discussion delves into Chris's strategic priorities, which include workforce development and housing solutions, addressing key challenges local businesses face.

Key Takeaways:

• Community Engagement: Chris Keller prioritizes meeting key stakeholders to strengthen relationships and boost local businesses.
• Retention is Key: Economic development efforts focus on retaining and supporting existing businesses, rather than just attracting new ones.
• Workforce and Housing: Key challenges include workforce development and the local housing shortage, which impact business sustainability and growth.
• Open Communication: Use of newsletters and social media (Facebook and LinkedIn) for better community engagement and information dissemination.
• Collaboration and Growth: The supportive community environment in Findlay and Hancock County encourages collaboration and continuous growth.

Resources:

• Connect with the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce on Facebook and LinkedIn for updates.
• Contact Chris Keller directly for more information: Phone - 419-306-8256
• US Chamber of Commerce State of the American Business Report.

Music and sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Transcript

0:00:01 - (Doug Jenkins): Welcome to the show. I'm Doug Jenkins from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. On each episode of Chamber Amplified, we're examining issues impacting the local business community. Whether it's employee recruitment and retention, marketing, it could be it issues, really anything that impacts your business. Our goal is to give our members tips each week on at least one way they can improve operations and thrive in the current business environment.

0:00:22 - (Doug Jenkins): Or at the very least, give you a clear picture of current events. What's happening in business around the area. That's kind of what we're getting into today. Obviously, there's plenty going on when it comes to economic development in Finland, Hancock County. It seems like that's always the case. So today we're joined by economic Development director Chris Keller. She's been in the role here for a couple of months now, but has been with the office for just over a year. So we're going to talk a little bit about what she's learned over that year. Some of the things that maybe were surprising, some of the things that she's very passionate about doing.

0:00:53 - (Doug Jenkins): And also we're going to talk about why economic development is more than just the newest thing coming into town. We get fixated on that for good reason. It's always exciting when something new comes to town. That's human nature. I know. I keep fielding questions about what's going in where the mall is. And I keep telling you it's a spirits Halloween megastore. I mean, there's no big secret, right? Anyway, that's not actually what's happening. Please don't take that seriously.

0:01:15 - (Doug Jenkins): We're gonna get into all of that and more. Thanks again for tuning in. And remember, if you were listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, you can rate and review this show. It really does help spread the word. Now let's get into it. Chris is so excited to be on the podcast today. When I said, hey, Chris, I had a schedule change. Do you want to hop on? She just jumped at the chance, right?

0:01:35 - (Chris Keller): Oh, yeah. Jumped leaping the chance.

0:01:39 - (Doug Jenkins): But actually, I think it's timely because you are now just celebrating a year with us here at the alliance in Economic Development and now in the economic development role here in the last couple of months. What has that first year been like for you?

0:01:55 - (Chris Keller): I can't believe it's been a year. It has gone really fast. It's been a whirlwind of meeting new people and learning all about what the office does and what the alliance does as a whole. And it's. It's been A lot of fun so far, I have to admit.

0:02:10 - (Doug Jenkins): Were you surprised at the amount of people to go meet? I mean, you are a Findlay native. You've always worked here, and you've worked in health care, and obviously you've been in real estate and restaurant and everything else. I would imagine you have your finger on the pulse, then all of a sudden you're like, wait, there's all these other people.

0:02:27 - (Chris Keller): Yeah. I mean, that is amazing. There are so many people that in the business community in Findlay and Hancock county that I thought I knew a lot of people, but there are still many more to meet and greet. So that's what I've been focused on.

0:02:41 - (Doug Jenkins): So let's talk about those focuses. Now you're in the driver's seat for economic development. As you took that role, what were some of the goals that you set for yourself and things that you want to continue to work on with the agency?

0:02:55 - (Chris Keller): Sure. So my two priorities, really. One is continuing to meet the key stakeholders in the business community, the people I haven't met, and re engaging with those that I have, prioritizing, you know, our members for the economic development office, and also learning more of the technical aspects of the job. So I'm taking opportunities to do some classes online and attend a lot of networking opportunities, things like that.

0:03:26 - (Doug Jenkins): So for people who don't know, the nice thing is you don't have to do it all by yourself. We have a new person coming on board here pretty soon.

0:03:34 - (Chris Keller): We do. So his name is Matt Gilroy. He is the economic development director for Fulton county, and he's been in that role for about 10 years. So he's coming with a lot of experience, which will help me, and really excited and can't wait for him to get here in March.

0:03:51 - (Doug Jenkins): So we mentioned you're a Findlay native, and with that being the case, how important is this role to you? This has always been home for you. What does it feel like to be in a place where you can really influence what home is like?

0:04:05 - (Chris Keller): Born and raised in Findlay, and a lot of my family and extended family, they still live here, work here. So having a prosperous community is extremely important to me, and it directly affects those that I love and care about the most. So that's. That's. That's what gets me up out of bed every day and excited to do this. This role.

0:04:26 - (Doug Jenkins): By the way, this has nothing to do with anything, but how long do you have to live somewhere before you're from there? Because I'm not a Findlay Hancock county native from an hour south of here, so. But I think I've lived most of my adult life or the majority of my adult life now in Finland, Hancock County. Do I get a claim that I'm from here now or am I always from Indian Lake? Which I don't mind, but I'm curious.

0:04:48 - (Chris Keller): I think you can claim it. Do you like pizza's chocolate? Well, if you do, then you're good.

0:04:55 - (Doug Jenkins): Do you know who else loves Dietz's chocolate covered pretzels? Everyone. As I have found everyone. Giving those to high school students in the Hancock Youth Leadership as prizes for the stuff that they're doing. One of the things that always comes up with economic development is what's coming next. What's coming next? And I think in the conversations we've had here internally in the office, and I think probably that you're having with people externally as well, is it's not always about that in the world of economic development.

0:05:22 - (Doug Jenkins): A lot of times it's way more about getting the companies that are here to just continue to investing and being here. What has that been like as you get into that world?

0:05:33 - (Chris Keller): I would say 98% of what I do is focused on retention and expansion of current businesses. Those businesses who have opted to invest and make Findlay their home and Hancock county their home. That's where our priority is. So we're focused on doing what we can to support them in their growth and retention. And it's a lot less on attracting new business. Some. There's some misperceptions about that, I think, but we're gonna gear up and really get that message across. People that we're here to just. We're here to support those who've already invested.

0:06:09 - (Doug Jenkins): When you talk to existing businesses about what staying here and continuing to grow here looks like for them, obviously there are the dollars and cents. There's a bottom line that has to be met. But what are the other things that they tell you would be helpful for them to either attract talent or just meet the. Whatever the bottom line is or whatever their concerns are. What are the things that you hear?

0:06:33 - (Chris Keller): Workforce development is always a concern. Being able to retain good employees, attracting workers to the, to the community. The housing shortage that we've had over the last few years hasn't helped in that respect. So we do have some strategies around developing on the residential housing side, trying to open up more housing, enticing people to move here, which will then help fill those roles for businesses looking for workforce.

0:07:02 - (Doug Jenkins): Do you think that aspect of economic development kind of flies under the radar? Sometimes that it's not all about just, hey, let's put up businesses and factories and offices and things like that. There's a lot more that goes into it. It's a little bit more fine tuned than that, definitely.

0:07:16 - (Chris Keller): I think it does fly under the radar a little bit, but it can be one of the biggest threats for a company and its ability to remain here.

0:07:24 - (Doug Jenkins): So as you look at the future, what excites you about business and where we're going in Findlay and Hancock County?

0:07:33 - (Chris Keller): I think we have a great community. People are willing to collaborate and work together and I'm excited to be in that environment. I think the relationships that we already have are excellent and continuing to grow upon those. That's what's exciting about it.

0:07:50 - (Doug Jenkins): Certainly looking forward to everything that's happening with economic development and the partnership and everything we have here at the alliance with you and the convention of visitors bureau. You did fine, Chris. This, this worked out well.

0:08:03 - (Chris Keller): Well, thanks.

0:08:03 - (Doug Jenkins): Nice, tight, concise answers. We're done in under 10 minutes. But it's, I think, a great introduction to it. I mean I can, I can ramble on about other things if you'd like me to.

0:08:13 - (Chris Keller): That's okay.

0:08:16 - (Doug Jenkins): Actually, there is one more thing I did want to bring up because I think one thing that I think we've seen over the last couple of years with economic development is there's really a push to keep the community informed about what economic development is doing. Sarah Miley has a big hand in that for Ed. Now just tell people about how they can keep up with this because people always have a lot of questions about what's happening on. I think that you guys have been really deliberate about getting that information out there.

0:08:42 - (Chris Keller): Yeah, that's something new for us. We've always had a newsletter and we've focused on refining that, making it more readable, more interactive. And we've also added a Facebook page and a LinkedIn page so you can follow us on both Facebook and LinkedIn. And that's where you'll see our newsletter and pop ups for events and other opportunities to engage with us. And always feel free to call, email, set up a time to chat. We're looking forward to those opportunities.

0:09:14 - (Doug Jenkins): So you even set me up for my last question. However, the last question is how to get in touch. What is the best phone number to get in touch with you at?

0:09:20 - (Chris Keller): My direct Phone number is 419-306-8256.

0:09:26 - (Doug Jenkins): There you go. Chris, thanks for joining us today.

0:09:29 - (Chris Keller): Thanks for having me.

0:09:31 - (Doug Jenkins): Thanks again to Chris for joining us. Here on the podcast. Really random add on to the end of this one. So I read the US Chamber of Commerce State of the American Business Report just a day after talking to Chris, so I didn't really have any questions about that for her. But it does reinforce some of the things that we are talking about, that being the importance of all businesses, whether they're locally owned and operated, or maybe they're big corporations or franchises, things like that. They all have an impact on local communities through jail, job creation and economic activity. And that's the obvious part, right? But it does help hammer home another key point, and that's that we need to have that pro economic growth mindset, not just at the federal and state level, but at the local level as well. And that's because even small differences in growth rates have exponential impacts on living standards. A slowdown now impacts it for years to come.

0:10:20 - (Doug Jenkins): I'll link to that report in the show Notes. It's really interesting if you want to nerd out on some things like that. Anyway, Chamber Amplified a Free Podcast for the Community thanks to the investment of members from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. Because of our robust membership, we're able to focus on providing timely information to the Findlay and Hancock county business community, run leadership programs for adults and teenagers, and be an advocate for the area.

0:10:43 - (Doug Jenkins): That's also while providing tools to help local businesses succeed. And if that sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, just let me know and we can talk about how an investment in the Chamber helps strengthen not just your business, but the community as a whole. That'll do it for this week's episode. If you have any ideas for topics you'd like to hear covered in the future, just send me an email. Let me know.

0:11:01 - (Doug Jenkins): Djenkinsindleyhancockchamber.com thanks again for listening and we'll see you next time on Chamber Amplified from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.