Guest Speaker Bruce Kendall CEO of EDB

While Bruce spoke mostly about Pierce County's economic situation and how his company, Economic Development Board (EDB), assists primary firms in Pierce County his speech had a lot of good information for beginning entrepreneurs.  The most important concept, in my opinion, is that business do not exist in a vacuum.  As I think about my business plan I find myself thinking about its chances of success or failure based on its own merits.  While this has a lot to do with the success of the business Bruce reminded me that there is a larger economic theater that can drive your business or bring about its demise.  Thinking about where to start a business seems to be an important consideration.  I have always figured that I would just spawn a company in the same city I where I hang my hat, so to speak, but now I find myself wondering about the economic environment.  What are the tax codes like?  What is the labor pool like?  What companies are willing to assist my company for direct or indirect returns to their company?  What kind of business clusters exist in a location?  Is there activity to grow these clusters?  These are all new considerations that Bruce planted in my mind.  I find most of these questions less exciting than the initial idea brainstorming but, none the less, these will undoubtedly be factors in my business plan.