‘What do you do in economic development?’ is by far the top asked question I hear as I navigate my fourth year as director of Ellsworth County Economic Development. Sometimes that question is asked directly, and other times it’s an unspoken wondering in the community, so when I was asked to write an editorial for the Progress Edition, I was eager to have an opportunity to explain what economic development does.

In its simplest form, economic development’s objective is to expand the tax base for the County of Ellsworth.

What does that mean? The answer is a wide net and a broad scope of touching nearly everything that makes a community prosper and grow. While traditional economic development is business recruitment, it’s much bigger than that. Here are a few things in broad categories that might help you understand what we do:

1. Business Retention and Expansion — keeping the businesses we have in EW County. Examples of services: solving production, solvency, or workforce challenges; assisting with positive cash flow by educating businesses on incentives; shop local campaigns; regular communication with businesses to better understand their needs, educational opportunities to strengthen businesses, and succession planning services.

2. Community Development — Creating networks to build stronger and more resilient communities. Examples of services: strategic planning, networking events, leadership courses, and grant writing services.

3. Population Retention and Growth — Back to the basics, we need people to live and work in Ellsworth County! This means meeting the needs of those prospective residents, which includes housing, employment, quality of life, broadband, and creating an environment which makes them want to stay here. On our website, we currently have a relocation guide, rental housing board, and we provide match services for employment opportunities. We are also proud to facilitate NexGen Ellsworth County, our networking initiative to connect new residents and build retention in the community.

4. New Business — Start-up businesses are a great opportunity to expand our tax base and also generate new goods and services in the community. Vetting a new start-up can include services such as creating a business plan, financial forecasting, marketing, and financing. In 2021, we have submitted gap funding for businesses totaling over half a million dollars. Gap funding is the difference between what a start-up needs in order be solvent, and what a traditional lender is willing to loan, and is often critical to making a project happen.

Those are just a few of the things we do, but the truth is most of the work we do is in the background. We take confidentiality very seriously and will never publicly speak about a project without our client’s permission. Some projects are vetted for years before they come to fruition, and some never come to fruition at all. It’s part of the work, and part of successful progress.

Recently we were happy to announce a move to a new office location. The move was bittersweet, as we had shared space with the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce for many years. The collaboration between economic development and the chamber is critical and we value the work the Chamber is doing in the community. However, the new location allows for greater confidentiality and more space to provide a growing menu of services.

You’ll find us at our new location of 107 W. 2nd St.

Still wondering what we do?

Take a tour of our website at www.ellsworthcountyeconomicdevelopment.com or stop by the office!