Business Retention and Expansion

• To increase participants’ understanding of the importance of building, retaining and expanding a strong business community
• To promote understanding of business retention and expansion (BR&E) as a primary economic development strategy

Specific topics include:

• To identify how to plan, establish and manage a BR&E program;
• To provide examples of Business Visitation Programs (BVPs), Import Replacement Programs (IRPs) and other BR&E programs;
• To outline the critical nature of ‘red flags,’ (issues or challenges to local businesses) and how to respond;
• To encourage an entrepreneurial and ‘pro-business’ environment of support for business;
• To present the concept of business incubation and nurturing HBBs;
• To summarize the governments’ roles in BR&E programs; and
• To provide resources for supporting and sustaining business.

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To register for an online session check out our calendar.

Business Investment & Attraction

• To increase participants’ understanding of the importance of business investment and attraction as a strategy in economic development.    

• To introduce and profile how business investment attraction can benefit your community.
• To understand what encourages existing businesses to expand their operations.

Specific topics include:

• Ways to determine if your community is in fact ‘investment ready’;
• How to identify your target industry through competitive advantage analysis;
• How to create an Investment Marketing Strategy;
• Examples of business investment attraction tools;
• Introducing the topic of Site Selectors;
• Different phases of Site Selection;
• Introducing the topic of foreign direct investment;  
• Methods of measuring your BI&A program success; and
• Always remember the risk factor in all projects.