Morning everyone,
The oft-misquoted phrase from the moon mission could apply to Delaware and its poor rankings of late.
One of the most recent reports, the Thumbtack survey of small business owners, showed the First state slipping from second to 27th
The service that hooks up small service businesses with customers gave the state a B minus. Thumbtack is being charitable. Grading on the curve, ranking 27th can get you a C or a high D.
The Thumbtack report, which also caught the attention of the newsletter of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is interesting for a couple of reasons.
For one thing, it showed more than three-fourths of small business owners surveyed believe the state is more interested in luring corporations than in assisting small business.
It is also clear that small business is not tapping into training and networking programs.
Representatives of organizations that engage in the above-mentioned activities will take offense at these findings and point out the many options available.
But in this case, perception is reality.
It is true that Delaware has always been forced by competing states to offer concessions that grant tens of millions of dollars in breaks to its biggest corporations, leaving little on the table for smaller companies.
Badly needed is an adequately funded marketing and outreach effort that specifically targets businesses within the state and breaks down the many “silos” that seem content to cater to their respective clientele, or lack resources to do much more.
Right now, the state’s Division of Small Business is housed in a catch all of agencies within the Department of State.
To be fair, the division is still getting up and running after being spun off from the now-defunct Delaware Economic Development Office and is getting a pitiful level of financial support from the General Assembly.
Elsewhere in government, the same regulatory mechanisms used in ferreting out evaders could also be used to provide messages on Delaware being open for business and offering a gateway for information on available programs.
Aiding business is not part of the regulatory mindset, but there is nothing stopping an outreach effort, even it includes brochures stuffed into a violation notice.
Let me know your thoughts pro and con. Simply hit return on this Email message and type away. – Doug Rainey, publisher.
