Tips for growing an economy....pandemic or not

BEATRICE – A Dallas, Texas-based economic development consultant says he likes what he calls “the bones” of downtown Beatrice and lauded the local economic development organization for focusing on business retention, helping start-ups and business attraction.

Dean Barber, the Principal of Barber Business Advisors, LLC, was a keynote speaker at Tuesday night’s NGage Annual meeting. He said communities would also do well to invest in their infrastructure and human resources. He noted things have changed due to the pandemic.

"They call it the great resignation....the great reshuffle. No longer is it all about pay. It's more than that. And, I think some how, some way, the pandemic created a lot of soul-searching."  Barber uses himself as an example of someone in their 50s, who went another direction.

"I started my business in my fifties because I realized the chances of me being hired. Age-ism is alive and well in America. Once you get in your fifties, you're not so desirable. That's one primary reason why I started my consulting business."

Barber, who writes a weekly publication for economic developers called “The Rising Tide”…says economic development boils down to giving people more and better opportunities to improve their financial lot in life.  He says most communities the size of Beatrice should focus more of their efforts on helping existing business grow, since that’s where the bulk of job growth comes from.

"The reality is in most communities, big and small, is about three-quarters of all new jobs are created by existing businesses....which makes all the more sense as to why economic development organizations would want to assist them".

Barber said the toughest job today, is landing that one big new company. He said NGage is on-target with their strategy that emphasizes helping existing business grow and entrepreneurs get started.  He also said improving digital literacy is key to growing the economy and that the U.S. should embrace legal immigration to counter population loss and provide productive employees.

"More immigration would grow the economy, but it would increase the working age population as welll, leading to a more productive, prosperous economy...higher GDP per capita...perhaps a higher standard of living for all of us."

Barber said businesses in today’s world need to treat their employees as if they were volunteers….and companies should not be afraid to take social or political stands that their employees care about. He also spent a brief moment on the bitter divisions that exist at the highest levels of government.

"I think that bothers us all, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. There was a time not that long ago that both political parties governed. Governing means compromise. That's not happening a lot these days. The other side is viewed as the other side, and it's sad. I think we're going to come out of this much better. It's my belief that you never, ever bet against America."

Barber’s consulting firm has offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Raleigh, North Carolina.