SMALL IS THE NEW BIG

THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH HAS A CURRENT ARTICLE WONDERING IF AND HOW " ST. LOUIS CAN GET AHEAD WHEN RECESSION GIVES WAY TO RECOVERY. "



http://tinyurl.com/yktjfqm



And within the article, Mr. Alan Richter has summed up a simple, compelling argument and course of action:





Small is the New Big



For a long time, as head of the region's Small Business Development Center, Alan Richter was one of St. Louis' leading business-startup gurus. These days, he runs the Regional Union Construction Center in Wellston, helping minority contractors improve their business skills.



He has always beaten the drum for entrepreneurship.It is, Richter says, the future.Small businesses and startups generate three-quarters of all new jobs, Richter said. But it's an area where the region has lagged.



For too long, he said, our region's economic development efforts have focused on landing the big fish. We don't do enough to nurture the minnows. Part of that is cultural, Richter said. Entrepreneurship just doesn't seem to be in St. Louis' DNA.



"We were blessed for so many years, for 100 years, with all these major corporations," he said. "We got sort of fat and lazy. We worked for big companies and had steady jobs, and we relied on that. That doesn't create an entrepreneurial culture."But that big company culture is the past.



Elected officials and economic development groups must do more to boost startups, Richter said.



They should highlight emerging companies and help them grow.



They should put more resources into small business development, and focus less on incentives for big employers.



They should build a long-term strategy around helping small firms grow here in St. Louis.



It takes time, and it doesn't generate the headlines of a new corporate office building. It's not sexy work, he said."But it's where the jobs are."