A lot of very good programs are being offered these days in Virginia’s Great Southwest for individuals looking to start a new business or for those who currently own a business and who are looking to stay in or expand their business. One recent event attracted 85 individuals to the New River Community College NRV Mall Campus seeking access to the multiple resources available to them to start or keep open businesses in our area.

These programs are the results of strong partnerships between Virginia’s Department of Business Assistance, the local NRV Chambers of Commerce, SCORE, People Inc., and Virginia Economic Bridge (VEB). Also offered are individual events, seminars, and practical business development programs to facilitate area entrepreneurs and existing business to access new markets and enable their business growth but collectively we are seeking to engage and growth of the region’s business capabilities.

For example, this month VEB’s Virginia’s Business Pipeline is offering its annual March Madness Business Promotion, where any Virginia based company can:
• Access the complete business profiles of the more than 24,000 potential new customers
• Access more than 1,500 Requests For Proposals annually
• Secure new contracts by posting and downloading business solicitations
• Identify potential business partners and competitors
• Create your own target market mailing and e-mail lists by industry type, product, and demographics
• Offer special business promotions to Pipeline members through VBP sponsored e-Newsletters
• Showcase your products and services with the Photo Showroom
•  Post your company logo on your profile page to brand your company and products

Where else can you find a state specific resource to generate sales leads and find new business opportunities for $20 per year?

However, with all this assistance, one still needs to ask if we are really helping folks establish or maintain their businesses if we are not also giving them some direction as to which types of businesses this region needs to start and grow in order to create stronger business relationships with our Commonwealth business partners? Are we helping our businesses, and ultimately our region, become more economically competitive if we are not supporting the development and growth of businesses that do not offer a higher wage earning for its owners and employees?

Recently, a study was conducted by SRI International for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to recommend a framework for Virginia to better leverage the research and innovation assets in Virginia in ways to keep the state competitive and create jobs for Virginians statewide. The results of this study was provided to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Administration in 2008 and 2009 and is now being used by some the state to establish target industry clusters for regions and some local municipalities. Some of the more interesting data points I noticed was in the following two sets of rankings of Virginia’s Top 25 Industry Clusters in 2005.

Virginia Employment Commission Cluster Analysis (ranked by number of employees in 2005)
Education & Government
Retail Trade
Tourism
Construction & Real Estate
Life Sciences & Medicine
Business Services
(These first six sectors are labor heavy service sectors and represented 60 percent of Virginia’s total employment.)

General Services
Financial Services
Research & Engineering
IT Services
Wholesale Trade
Transport & Logistics
Aerospace[ace, Defense & National Security
Materials & Chemicals
Agriculture & Agribusiness
Telecommunications
Energy & Environment
Media & Design
Automotive & Transportation Manufacturing
Wood & Furniture
Industrial & Commercial Equipment Manufacturing
Textiles& Apparel
Utilities & Waste Management
Electronics
Paper

Virginia Employment Commission Cluster Rankings Based on Average Annual Pay by Cluster
IT Services
Financial Services
Research & Engineering
Energy & Environment
Aerospace, Defense & National Security
Telecommunications
Electronics
Wholesale Trade
Media & Design
Automotive & Transportation Manufacturing
Paper
Business Services
Materials & Chemicals
Utilities & Waste Management
Life Sciences & Medicine
Industrial & Commercial Equipment Manufacturing
Construction & Real Estate

Wages in technology and knowledge based clusters listed above far exceed the average annual pay of $40,513 or less for Virginia in the clusters below.
Education & Government
Transport & Logistics
Agriculture & Agribusiness
Wood & Furniture
Textiles& Apparel
General Services
Retail Trade
Tourism

Here is my question to all individuals seeking to establish or grow their businesses: If we are to move our rural regions forward in Virginia, shouldn’t we be seeking encouragement, funding, and support to start businesses in higher wage brackets such as:
IT Services
Financial Services
Research & Engineering
Energy & Environment
Aerospace, Defense & National Security
Telecommunications
Electronics
Wholesale Trade

Or do we continue to settle for the larger amounts of state and federal dollars being provided and proposed by our state and federal officials to fund, establish and support businesses in the lower wage paying brackets such as:
Education & Government
Transport & Logistics
Agriculture & Agribusiness
Wood & Furniture
Textiles & Apparel
General Services
Retail Trade
Tourism

Carl E. Mitchell is President and CEO of the Virginia Economic Bridge and is currently a W. K. Kellogg Foundation Rural People Rural Policy Fellow. His 20-year career has focused on business, community, economic and workforce development efforts in the Commonwealth and rural America through business, industry, education, and governmental rural/urban partnerships. Carl, his wife, Lori and their six children live in Radford.