Addison Pacesetters Learn About Addison's Economic Development Manager.
Addison Pacesetters (Addison, Texas residents 50+ years of age) meet the first Wednesday of each month at Dunn Bros. on Belt Line Road and learn about the Town of Addison. This month, Ben Magill, Addison's Economic Development Manager, spoke to us. Here is some interesting information from his presentation and the Q & A session that followed:
- Ben is from Oklahoma, but his wife is a Texan.
- Before coming to Addison, he worked in Arlington in Economic Development.
- The way economic development works: 1) wealth comes in, 2) wealth is circulated, 3) wealth exits. Ben's job is to keep wealth circulating within Addison.
- He brings wealth in through corporate recruitment, placed advertisements, business registration, and promotion of industry clusters.
- Addison has partnered with Baylor to provide entrepreneurs a leg up in starting their own businesses as part of the Accelerated Ventures Program (AVP). Students take a business from idea to reality over the course of two-semesters. Within 45 days of the beginning of class, they are expected to have launched their company; it should be generating revenue by the end of the first semester, and profitable by the end of the second semester. Each team receives $5,000 in seed money from the Baylor Angel Network. (The program is part of Baylor’s entrepreneurship program.) After graduation, AVP alums can choose to stay and further cultivate their businesses in Waco, or take advantage of Addison's offer: free office space in Addison's Finance Building for an additional year, provided by the Town of Addison. The new business owners can continue to benefit from the expertise and support from a community of Addison's seasoned economic developers.
- Addison will exchange this work space for the promise of housing these entrepreneurs in their second stage of their development, with an agreement that they will locate their new businesses in Addison when they move to the next phase of development, expansion and growth.
- This business incubator program with Baylor provides incredible PR for Addison. It positions Addison as a leading edge town. And the entrepeneurs bring energy and enthusiasm to Addison.
Next month, the first Wednesday is May 1st. Come out and join the Addison Pacesetters at Dunn Bros. and learn about the town of Addison. The speakers begin their presentations at 10:30 am. Come early, grab a cup of coffee. The Mayor holds court at 10:00 am, so if you have questions about Addison, that's a good time to get answers. See you next month with the Addison Pacesetters at Dunn Bros.
