Bob from Cleveland

Where will the PD take this new interest in public discourse?  The beginnings for “Quiet Crisis - Part Deux” are being laid and it would appear to be much different than its counterpart from a few years back.  My one desire is that the paper not only shed light on BIG ideas, rather; highlight the baby steps that are being taken today to solve regional problems of great significance.

One article today discussed “regionalism” but once again only focused on Cuyahoga County.  Regionalism is much bigger than Cuyahoga County and needs to involve our equal partners in Akron, Lorain, Medina, Youngstown, etc.  Each mini-region brings its own assets to the table and is part of a comprehensive economy.

So, thoughts on where this series is going and in what ways the residents of this region can drive the dialogue?  Submit a letter here.

Eaton recently launched their new slogan: “Powering Business Worldwide.”  The central hub for this power has been located in Cleveland since 1914 but will now be generated in Beachwood.  There will be plenty of arguments in the coming months on why this is horrible and how this is another nail in the coffin for the business environment in Cleveland.  This does not have to be the case.

We in Northeast Ohio need to stop viewing this as Beachwood vs. Cleveland or Westlake vs. Avon.  The game is now between major metropolitan areas both within and outside the country.  Cleveland competes just as much with Charlotte as we do with China.  This is why major law and accounting firms are opening up operations or partnering with existing firms in these markets.  The governing structure of Northeast Ohio needs to catch up to this fact or we are never going to be able to move forward as a region.

The Northeast Ohio Mayors and Managers Association, through Mayors Bill Currin (Hudson), Bruce Akers (Pepper Pike), and Mike Lyons (Richfield), are working with other elected officials to draft a proposal and conduct a vote of the people on just such an idea.  You can learn more about this proposal HERE.  The simple concept is that any new business that moves into Northeast Ohio (or relocates within Northeast Ohio) would pay a portion of its tax base to a regional pool.  This pool would be used for regional infrastructure projects, regional business attraction efforts, and other regional services deemed necessary.  The purpose of this effort is to level the playing field by creating a system that does not encourage one community to offer more incentives than another to attract businesses.  A high tide raises all ships sort of thing.

The reality is this: employees of Eaton (or any other company) do not limit themselves to the amenities of one municipality.  Eaton must rely on the assets of the entire region (parks, dining, theater, sports, etc.) when recruiting talent; not just those located in Beachwood.  The CEO of Eaton does not have season tickets to the Beachwood Indians or enjoy the fine music of the Beachwood Orchestra; rather, he will work in Beachwood, live in another community (I assume), and entertain clients/executives in dozens of municipalities.

It is time that the local tax structure insert this “modern” lifestyle into how municipalities compete for and tax businesses.  I encourage everyone to review the revenue study being proposed by the Northeast Ohio Mayors and Managers Association and encourage participation by their individual municipality.

Last night JumpStart held their annual meeting at Corporate College East and I was fortunate enough to attend.  These events are always a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and learn about their new projects (there are several great ones being worked on that I’ll post about in the future.)  The event also afforded me the opportunity to meet some new individuals that are launching new businesses and utilizing Jumpstart for resources and/or capital.  Cool stuff going on!

One comment that was made to me during the networking hour was “where are all the young entrepreneurs”?  Definition of “young” aside, I would have to agree that the room was a bit more elder than not.  I know that there are countless companies in Northeast Ohio that were started by individuals who are in their 20’s and 30’s, but where were they last night?  Is it Jumpstarts responsibility to specifically market the event to this age group and encourage participation?  Is it my age groups responsibility to make sure that we are making our presence known these events?  The event was open to anyone so why didn’t the “young people”, as this person said, attend?

I found the event to be very valuable from a networking standpoint and am quite certain that other young entrepreneurs would have received the same value if they took the time to attend.  So I ask: in what ways can we encourage participation from the younger set at events such as last nights?  As is often said, we are the future leaders of this region.

Great event JumpStart…keep up the good work!

Enjoy,
Bob