The search is on in Collingwood for captains of industry to help make a plan for the future of business in town.
Martin Rydlo, director of marketing and business development, and his team in the Collingwood economic development department are working on an Economic Development Action Plan, and that includes forming a mayor’s advisory team of experts to contribute.
Rydlo said an action plan like this one accomplishes two things that stretch beyond the business community.
“It means there are companies here that are hiring and that means jobs for people and money back into the economy,” said Rydlo. “It helps diversify the tax base so the burden doesn’t solely rest on residential taxes… the objective is to have companies that are growing here.”
Part of the plan is better understanding not only what assets already make Collingwood attractive for businesses but what barriers a new or existing business faces in town.
“We need to understand what’s working and what’s not working,” he said. “We want to create a plan that overtly and precisely tells us what to focus on.”
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business ranked Collingwood sixth in Canada and first in Ontario on its list of top entrepreneurial communities. Collingwood was also ranked 22nd on MacLeans Magazine’s top 25 places to live in Canada.
“We’ve got a bunch of really good things going for us we didn’t have five years ago,” said Rydlo. “We want to leverage that with a plan that’s responsible and fuels the right kind of growth. We want to be choiceful about the kind of industries we’re trying to attract.”
That’s where the mayor’s advisory team comes in. Rydlo hopes to compile a group of business owners both operating in and out of Collingwood for a two-day workshop that will produce a draft economic development action plan.
Rydlo said he is looking for diverse business leadership expertise in five different areas for the advisory team.
First, someone who has established a successful large business in town with about 30 to 50 employees and annual revenue of around $10 million.
Next, the team needs a high growth, newer and smaller business in town, something around $1 million in revenue and five or more employees.
Rydlo said he is also looking for recognized business leaders with experience on large scale growth projects, and they don’t have to have experience in Collingwood.
“I want to talk to people about where they’re actively going, and I want them to say ‘here’s why I haven’t invested here yet,’ or ‘here’s what I’ve seen in other places.’”
Rydlo said the team also needs at least one established business leader from outside Collingwood who is considering investing in Collingwood, and he’s looking for private or public sector experts in the field of attracting companies to invest and grow in smaller communities.
The town is now accepting applications to the mayor’s advisory team. You can apply online at Engage Collingwood.
The advisory team will be asked to meet with the consultant hired to lead the development of the action plan, and to attend a two-day workshop on Nov. 25 and 26 to build a draft of the plan.
Rydlo said once there’s a draft plan, the town will use it to engage with the public and business community in Collingwood for comments and feedback.
