AG 2011 12 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Draft 1.1 -- Not for Distribution or Circulation Realizing the 25% Shift For places like Cabarrus County that are in economic crisis, the best economic - development strategies ought to be those that cost the least money. Better still, these strategies should make money —and thereby underwrite still more economic development activity. I call these strategies "meta- businesses" – that is, businesses that support all kinds of local businesses. Below are brief descriptions of 19 meta - businesses that Cabarrus County could consider launching, organized by four of the six priorities for local living economy economic development described earlier. The starting place for meta - businesses is local purchasing—by consumers, businesses, and government purchasing agents. Plausible meta - businesses here include the following: • Local First Directory – A metabusiness could be created around a directory (online and in print) of local businesses. The purpose would be to help county residents find goods and services from locally owned businesses that may be below their radar screen. It also could be used to help tourists spend more money in locally owned businesses. There are roughly two dozen of these directories nationwide, some of which break even or generate small profits. Cash flows come from advertising sales and from selling the directory (in participating businesses or in local bookstores). • Local First Advertiser – A monthly or weekly newspaper could be created that circulates for free to Cabarrus County residents, each with an updated and expanding directory of local businesses, spiced up with profiles and other local business articles. It should be linked to extra web resources. Examples of these kinds of advertisers include the several dozen Edible magazines (focused on local food businesses) and thousands of neighborhood advertisers (focused on all kinds of businesses). • Local Debit Card About five years ago the Locals Care Card was pioneered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in partnership with a local bank. It was essentially a loyalty debit card. Every time the card was used for a purchase at a local business, loyalty points were accumulated for discounts at any participating local business. This particular model also invited users to designate beneficiaries of charitable donations from the program. Revenues were generated from fees charged to participating businesses. This particular program ultimately failed during the recession, but the model remains a promising one. • Local Credit Card – A variation on the debit card program is to affiliate it with a national credit card program rather than a local bank. The Interra Project, a nonprofit, has been developing a credit card integrating a Visa platform with a local loyalty program. Like the Locals Care program, revenues come from fees charged to participating businesses and from each transaction. And it also has card -users designate local charities as beneficiaries of some of the net revenues. The business model is still being prototyped and tested. 35 1 -4 Attachment number 1 Page 337