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Grow Minnesota! continues to provide one-on-one assistance to businesses across the state. Assistance is provided in three ways. The majority of our assistance is provided by our 55 local chamber or economic development partners and is a direct result of retention visits. In addition, assistance is available to companies that Grow Minnesota! is not able to visit via BusinessConnection, Minnesota’s first and only statewide one-stop shop for business assistance. Finally, Grow Minnesota! continues to work with groups of businesses it identifies as needing additional assistance. For instance, the companies that received grant or loan assistance via the Get Ready to Grow program provided by the Pohlad Family Foundation. The Centrallia expo and GE Aviation Small Business Supplier Symposium are also examples of group assistance that we provided.
Direct Assistance
The last question generally asked at a Grow Minnesota! visit is: “Can we help you do business better in Minnesota?” This year, 13 percent of the companies visited answered “yes.” Our assistance ranged from connecting local businesses with each other to finding energy-related savings and affected nearly 1,300 employees.
For instance, at a recent Grow Minnesota! visit by the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, staff learned of a proposal by City of Saint Paul Planning and Economic Development (PED) staff to change the zoning of Captain Ken’s property from Light Industrial District to a Business District (B3). The PED’s tentative proposal to change the zoning posed significant problems for this historic business. The zoning amendment risked rendering the property a nonconforming use in the B3 District. As a result, adverse consequences would accrue to the property and Captain Ken’s including, but not limited to, in the event of a change in the primary use of the building, Captain Ken’s would be restricted from utilizing the property for other necessary current and ongoing company uses. Furthermore, the proposal, if adopted, would reduce incentive for further investment in the property.
After conducting additional retention visits with Captain Ken’s, the Chamber began advocating against the proposal to PED staff and local elected officials. The Chamber also began a grassroots effort to educate the community about the negative impact the proposal would have on reinvestment opportunities. As a result, the City of Saint Paul in April 2010 announced its decision to have the property of Captain Ken’s remain zoned Light Industrial. That decision allows Captain Ken’s Foods to continue the fullest use of its St. Paul property for operations and plan for expansion at that site in St. Paul.
BusinessConnection
Both the Minnesota Chamber and the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) have initiated business retention programs since 2003. More so than ever, the business community and state are reaching out to employers, thanking them for contributing to our economy and offering to help solve problems that affect their ability to stay and grow in Minnesota.
Minnesota has more than 100,000 businesses. Recognizing that Grow Minnesota! and DEED can only conduct about 3,000 one-on-one visits per year, it is conservative to conclude that thousands of companies may need assistance but are not likely to get it. First, they may not be an active member of the business community. Second, no one has made a direct and personal offer to help. Third, they may be too busy to ask. A statewide business assistance and referral network that is well publicized, up-to-date and easy to access will reach out to these businesses.
Grow Minnesota! has created and is working to maintain and manage an online database and referral network which includes the state’s most requested assistance resources, both public and private sectors. In January 2010, Grow Minnesota! BusinessConnection became available statewide through a toll-free number, (888) MINN-BIZ and online database, www.mnbizconnect.com. The network allows businesses to access information previously unavailable via a single entry. The single entry allows for easy access to local and statewide resources. The network structure increases and supports the ability of local economic development leaders – both private and public sectors – to respond to local businesses as well as inquiries from businesses relocating to Minnesota.
To date, thousands of Minnesota companies have sought assistance via the online platform. In addition, more than 100 companies have contacted BusinessConnection directly seeking more specific assistance. The majority of questions surround starting a business in Minnesota. Some are more specific. An inquiry came from Mary Wobschall, owner of Country Collection Antiques and More, an antique and gift store located in Waseca, Minnesota. Once a year, during the Waseca County Fair, she holds a flea market outside her store. As a part of the flea market, she usually has a food vendor. This year, she was not sure that she could find a vendor to set up food and wanted to know what, if any, licenses she would need to provide the food herself. BusinessConnection directed her to License Minnesota, a service provided by the state of Minnesota, to help her find the exact license. In the end, she hired another Minnesota food vendor, saving her the trouble of getting a permit of her own. She was glad to have BusinessConnection to turn to when she needed us.
Group Assistance
Get Ready to Grow Grants and Loans
In 2009, the Pohlad Family Foundation pledged $5.25 million to help small businesses in Minnesota survive the current economic crisis and be poised for recovery. Eligible small businesses had to be privately held, have fewer than 50 employees and generate annual sales of $10 million or less. The foundation turned to Grow Minnesota! to organize and administer this program due to its statewide network of local partners; the network’s knowledge of local businesses; and its track record of business assistance. In total, with the addition of $250,000 in loan money for Greater Minnesota supplied by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the Get Ready to Grow program either granted or loaned a total of $5.5 million to 91 businesses in 62 communities. These businesses not only employed more than 1,250 Minnesotans, but also supported hundreds of other local businesses.
A sign that the recession is still affecting Minnesota businesses is the continuing interest in the Get Ready to Grow program’s now unavailable grants and loans. Businesses have continued to contact Grow Minnesota! in an effort to gain access to the funds. Businesses continue to need assistance. To that end, the Minnesota Chamber plans to create a revolving loan program with the interest paid from the Get Ready to Grow program’s current loans. This fund will not be available until early 2012. Please visit the Grow Minnesota!’s website for more information.
Centrallia
This year Grow Minnesota! made its first effort to help companies expand their markets outside the United States. by leading the Minnesota delegation to the Centrallia 2010 expo. More than 600 companies visited Winnipeg, Manitoba, for three days to network and to look into sales opportunities from around the globe. Minnesota had two companies participate. Both reported the event helped them connect with customers outside the Unites States. Grow Minnesota! will look into additional opportunities to promote exporting.
2010 GE Aviation Small Business Supplier Symposium
In December, Grow Minnesota! partnered with the Department of Employment and Economic Development to host the GE Aviation Small Business Supplier Symposium. GE Aviation executives were on hand to provide insight into GE Aviation's business, focusing on opportunities for Minnesota suppliers to provide direct or sub-tier materials to GE's supply chain. This was a rare opportunity for Minnesota businesses to meet GE Aviation's Sourcing Team and its Tier 1 suppliers to develop potential business relationships. One-on-one appointments with companies were available to help position each company as a potential supplier. Overall the response to the event has been positive. One business said, “This type of symposium is exactly what the state needs to sponsor. Anything to help grow and aid the manufacturing sector of our economy is an enormous boon to the state. Please continue to do this type of event again in the future.”