Business Mix
Sometimes downtown leaders are over-zealous in their efforts to attract new businesses, and don't realize that one of their downtown's greatest resources is the pool that are located in the downtown already. As important as strategies to draw in outside businesses are the development strategies to keep existing businesses and develop new ones from local entrepreneurs. This is important because existing businesses contribute more to the local economy than new businesses of equal size. Existing businesses are already established in the community, and typically most employees live in the local area, and locally owned businesses tend to spend their profits locally. New businesses which are attracted from other areas typically are not locally owned, and profits escape from the local economy. Also, new businesses have not established patterns of local employment, and may rely more on commuting employees, who are not as closely tied with the local economy.
