Regional effort on business retention hopes to create jobs

By Chelsey Levingston, Staff Writer

A new regional initiative takes to heart the saying, “Your best customers are your existing customers.”

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s economic development arm, the Cincinnati USA Partnership, is using the same tools it would use to attract new employers to meet the needs of existing businesses in the Cincinnati metro region to help fuel job growth.

GrowthForce launched May 13 as an effort by the chamber to include private business volunteers, economic development professionals and Workforce One Investment boards to focus on helping existing businesses grow by connecting them with community resources, said Julia Muntel, the partnership’s director of investor relations and business retention.

The group hopes to visit 450 businesses by year’s end in the three-state, 15-county region, which could include companies in Butler and Warren counties.

“The focus on attraction will not go away,” Muntel said.

But with 74 percent of $2.4 billion in total business investment in the region last year made by existing businesses, she said, “We feel as though the timing is perfect now more than ever.”

The Cincinnati chamber has received a $250,000 grant from Ohio Department of Development for the effort, including publishing a resource guide and improving a related website. A third party is conducting research into high potential, income-generating companies to prioritize one-on-one visits, she said.

The most common business needs have been identified as: financing, potential tax incentives and abatements, assistance with training and recruitment, networking and marketing opportunities and advocacy.

Visits will be made typically by one to two people from the relevant municipality, Workforce Investment Board, a volunteer and/or the state. Afterward, the GrowthForce representatives will do the follow up — referrals for training or informing them of financing options. Much of it will be case by case, and meetings are confidential, she added.

The preliminary legwork done by the chamber, such as setting up meetings, is something Butler County Department of Development doesn’t have as much time to do with the smallest staff it’s ever had, said Mike Juengling, the county director of development. This way, business retention doesn’t fall through the cracks, he said.

A lot of work will be done together with the chamber and local development officials.

“It’s a way to show the businesses it’s not just the local community that’s interested in them, it’s the region,” Juengling said.

Another regional initiative kicked off about the same time. Employers First Regional Workforce Network was formalized May 17, a collaboration of Workforce Investment Boards and the Greater Cincinnati Workforce Network to address work force development issues.

Because that’s one part of what GrowthForce hopes to tackle, Muntel said there’s room for collaboration between the two.

Chris Kemper, Cincinnati chamber spokesman, said, “At the end of the day, that level of cooperation with both initiatives is great for the region.”