pounding the pavementBy Karen Dickson

Onsile training Jor welders at Dynamic Lighting.

e very economic developer knov^show important it is to havesome sort of business retentionor outreach program to the local

businesses in one's community.Unfortunately, due to other demands placed on5taff and resources or a higher priority beinggiven to recruitment efforts, retention activitiesare often placed on the back burner. In 2003,the Pearland Economic DevelopmentCorporation (PEDC) made a momentous step inmoving the priority of a local business outreachprogram to the front burner.

PEARLAND. TEXAS:THE RISE OF A SMALL COMMUNITY

Located on Houston's southern border, just tnin-utes frotn downtown, the world-renowned TexasMedical Center, and NASAfe Johnson Space Center,Pearland, Texas, is positioned in a prime locationfor growth. With a population of 54,000,

Pearland's current growth rate is11 percent, and due to futureannexations and contitiuedgrowth, the population in fiveyears is estimated lo douhle to100,000.

Pearland s primaryindustry sector is oilfield andenergy related manufacturingand service, followed by retail,then office/professional andhealth care. Residential growthhas driven significant retailgrowth in the city with well morethan 1 million square feet in newretail built in the last three yearswith an anticipated additional 2tnillion square feet to be built intwo years. Residential and retailgrowth is good, but a diverse

economic base is essential to a healthy economy. In1995, Pearland residents approved the passage ofthe city's 4B sales tax and established the PEDC,whose core mission is to act as a catalyst by improv-ing private investment in the local economy to ben-efit residents, education, government, andPearland's future.

Since its inception, the PEDC has providedgrants totaling more than $1 million to 43 Pearlandbusinesses. Additionally PEDC has provtded need-ed infrastructure to support business growth anddevelopment. Roadway improvements, water andsewer extensions, and drainage programs totalingmore than $11 million have been committed with-in the three Foreign Trade Zones and along thecommercial districts.

THE BIRTH OF THE BREThe PEDC board of directors is the governing

body of the PEDC and is appointed by the Pearlandcity council to approve PEDC policy, incentives,and expenditures. The city council approvesPEDC expenditures in excess of $100,000. In orderto address all aspects of a fully comprehensive

PEARLAND'S PATH TO BUSINESS RETENTION & EXPANSION SUCCESSihe e:iiabUshment ojajonnalized lousiness retention and expansion outreach program can be a chalknff.ng, yetIuljilling journey. An outreach program is unique and tailored to a community based on the local businesses' needsand the economic developers' commitment to serving local businesses. In Pearland, the "pound the pavement"approach has proven to be the outreach solution for the Texas community.

Karen Dich^n wasformerly the managerof the Business Retention& Expansion programof the PearlandEconomic DevdopmenlCorporation inPearland, Texas.She is currently thevice president ofeconomic developmentfor ihe Denton Chamberof Commerce in Denton,Texas.

Economic Development Journal / Fall 200S 27

BRE

In 2004, the BRE program became a formalized pro-gram with a core mission to address those needs andinterests of existing businesses and to place significantemphasis on creating a positive business environment

for stable, successful companies. Programobjeaives with measurable goals and metricswere established, therefore, establishing the

Pearland BRE program as the only one of itskind in the Houston area.

economic development pro-gram, the PEDC's board ofdirectors agreed that PEDCstafT would focus on existinglocal businesses to: 1) estab-lish relationships; 2) addressthe unique issues or needs they are facing;and 3) share information of available business re-sources. Therefore, the Business Retention &Expansion (BRE) program was established.

In 2004, the BRE program became a formalizedprogram with a core mission to address those needsand interests of existing businesses and to place sig-nificant emphasis on creating a positive businessenvironment for stable, successful companies.Program objectives with measurable goals and met-rics were established, therefore, establishing thePearland BRE program as the only one of its kind inthe Houston area.

The first-year goals of the program were lo per-sonally visit each of the major industry employersin the city and survey the top executive/managerduring the visit. Through the survey and generalconversation, red flag issues would be identifiedand addressed.

To accomplish this goal, a PEDC representativeinitially sent letters and called businesses inadvance in an attempt to set up appointments tovisit with them. We quickly found that businessowners were either too busy to speak to us or wewould have to leave a voicemail. Our phone callswere never returned. We did, however, talk to onebusiness owner via telephone. When he found outwe were with the city, he told us he did not want totalk to us because we were "the government" andfor us not to visit him because he did not want tovisit with us...period!

After that conversation, it became very clear thatour local businesses were not going to open theirarms to these ambassadors of good vdW and that weneeded a vastly different plan. Some options wereto keep the appointment-making task in-house orcontract it out. But, the drawbacks of those two

options included additional unanticipated expendi-tures of staff time and resources. However, a differ-ent, more aggressive, yet effective approach was stillneeded.

POUNDING THE PAVEMENTThe next day, after the conversation with ihe

business owner, we went out and made busi-ness calls — unannounced and withoutappointments- We would arrive at a businessand someone (usually [he business owner)

would eventually take time to talk to us andtell us about the business, often times givingus a tour of the facility We may have had lowait 10, 20 or 30 minutes before we couldbe seen, but our persistence and patienceusually paid off. At that time, we wouldeducate the individual about the programsthat are available to businesses and how thePEDC could help him or her in accessing

BRE Team visits local company - Specialty GasCompany.

available resources. More importantly, weexpressed to the business owners how happy wewere to have them in our community and thankedthem for having their business in Pearland. Somebusinesses would talk to us for a mere five minutes.

But, the majority of the businesses engaged in aconversation ranging from 30 minutes to an hour.Those days of dropping by busmesses for unan-nounced visits quickly became known as our"Pound the Pavement" days.

Shortly after the "Pound the Pavement" daysbegan, the Center for Workforce Development withthe Alvin Community College-Pearland Campusand the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) wereeach given directives to visit local businesses. ThePearland Area Chamber of Commerce also wantedto participate in an outreach program to businesses.We all agreed to combine forces and "pound thepavement" together as a means to reach out to busi-nesses and accomplish organizational goals,

28 Economic Development Journal / Fall 2005

A TEAM EFFORTHaving the chamber, the community college, and

the GHP as part of a newly expanded BRE team, thePEDC was able to leverage the partners' existingrelationships vtath local businesses and open newdoors for the BRE team to attain its goals.Businesses were more willing to take the time to talkwith community representatives who were showingan interest in their business versus "the govemtnentwho probably wants more money."

During our visits, we begin with general conver-sation in an effort to establish a relationship.Throughout the conversation, we work in questionsas part of our informal survey lo identify issuesand/or barriers the businesses are facing, as well assuccesses they have experienced. Two or three BREteam members visit with the business owner, whileanother BRH represeniative takes notes and com-pletes a survey form based on the informationrevealed by the owner. Having PEDC, chamber, col-lege and GHP representatives all present on the"Pound the Pavement" days also provides an oppor-tunity to address business issues on the spot. Forexample, any employee training or skills develop-ment issues are addressed by the community col-lege; available business assistance resources areaddressed by the PEDC and the GHP; and thechamber shares business-to-business opportunities.

As a result of more doors being opened to theBRE team, much synergj' and success has takenplace.• In 2004, nine companies enrolled in multiple

employee training courses as a result of beingintroduced to the BRE program. Such tramingincluded: ESL (English as a Second Language),Command Spanish, computer training, solder-ing training, an OSHA audk, CPR training, andaccounting training.

• PEDC is working with the city's communityplanning department to revise Pearland's UnifiedDevelopment Code, which some business own-ers said contained regulations that had becomebarriers to business growth.

• The PEDC's previously established CEORoundtable luncheon program was integratedinto ihe BRE program. This peer-to-peer busi-ness forum updates business owners on issuesthat could potentially impact their companies, aswell as provides a forum for owners to discusstheir issues.

• Local businesses are becoming advocates ofworking wilh the city rather than criticizing iland its processes.

• In an effort to reach out to the ever-burgeoningreiail industry in Pearland, the PEDC has con-tracted wilh the Pearland Area Chamber ofCommerce to conduct retail business calls. Thechamber ambassadors follow the "Pound ihePavement" model for conducting these businessvisits.

Robert Buchanan, president and owner of EirstImpression Sign &r Design, Inc. in Pearland, receni-ly had a successful expansion and relocation withinPearland as a result of the BRE program.

"True assistance is keeping a business workingand viable by allowing that business lo keep

THIRD COAST TERMINALS

Third Coau Tcrrriinals recemd assistance from the PEDCjor the installation 0} a concretestreel along ihc company's new 6-acre development property.

momentum while meeting the requirements of thecity officials," Buchanan said. "Without this form ofintangible BRE assistance, which is a time-abate-ment only we could not have made the aniicipaiedmove at all."

The BRE program has been effective in meetingbusinesses' needs in a number of ways. The follow-ing case study is a strong represeniation of the pro-gram's success.

CASE STUDY: SHAWCOR PIPEPROTECTION, LLC

ShawCor Pipe Protection is a pipe coating com-pany specializing in coating and insulation systemsfor corrosion protection and weighl-coating applica-tions on land and marine pipelines. In 1975, thecompany established a presence in Peadand andcurrently employs 101 individuals in a 70.000-square-foot facility.

In 2004. the company began evaluating itsoptions on where to move its 25.000-square-footglass syntactic polyurethane pipe coating plant,which was located in Alabama. The options were tokeep the facility in Alabama or move the facility toeither Mexico or Pearland. PEDC staff met withShawCor representaiives to explore what the PEDCcould do to help comince the company's decision-makers to relocate the Alabama-facility to Pearland.During this meeting, ihe PEDC also reviewed thecity requirements that would need lo be fulfilled inorder to create a new facility in Pearland,

In Eebruar>- 2005, the PEDC board approved a$60,480 cash grant to assist ShawCor with reloca-tion expenses based on the value of ShawCors fixedassets, the number of employees gained in ihe city.

Economic Development Journal / Fall 2005 29

and the rate of return on PEDCsinvestment. The approval of thecash grant helped seal the deal inmoving the glass syntacticpolyurelhane pipe coating plant tothe existing facility in Pearland. Inaddition, the city granted a three-year, 50 percent tax abatement onthe new facility. However, due to aprevious customer commitmentShawCor had made, production onthe new Pearland facility wouldhave to begin in mid-July - a merefive months - therefore, creatingthe biggest challenge of the project.

To help ShawCor honor its cus-tomer commitment, the PEDC, thecity's planning department, and the company'sdevelopment team met to discuss what each depart-ment could do to assist in the project's very restrict-ed development timeline. PEDC assisted ShawCorin the required zoning change process, as weilas guided them through the tax abatementprocess. The city's planning department worked toexpedite the site review and building permit andinspection processes. PEDC also served as the proj-ect facilitator, keeping constant updates onthe development process and working to keep theproject on schedule.

With the coordinated efforts of the city, ShawCorreceived its Certificate of Occupancy from the city

Year-to-Date BRE Cash Grants Issued# CompaniesAssisted

# EmployeesRetained

CapitalInvestment

Facility(S/F)

313 $2,598,000

Computer Training at Alvin Community College - Pearland Campus joi

of Pearland for its new glass syntactic pol)'urethanepipe coating plant on time. In addition, Pearlandwill have an additional 37 jobs in five years and amore than $700,000 immediate increase to thecity's tax base based on ihe additional $5 million infixed assets in the new facility.

Josh Croix, plant manager for ShawCor'sPearland plant, says these tremendous results aresolely based on one of the BRE's "Pound thePavement" visits.

"We never knew a business assistance-type pro-gram such as the BRE existed in Pearland until thePEDC dropped by my office for a visit," Croix said,"They were instrumental in the expansion of our

Pearland plant. This project never woukihave happened, nor would it have hap-pened in a timely manner without theassistance of the BRE program. They wereindispensable to us."

We are especially proud of thisproject as we were not only able to con-

Total GrantsAmount

147,000 $179,590

Types of BRE Services Provided

Category of Assistance Number of Companies Assisted

Other

Property Re-Zoning

Planned Unit Development Establishment

Water/Sewer Line Extension/Installation

Foreign Trade Zone Activation

Expansion/Relocation

Fagade issue

10

30 Economic Development Journal / Fall 2005

vince ShawCor decision-makers inlocating the neu' plant in Pearland butwe wete able to keep 37 jobs in theUnited States and not letting them slipaway to Mexico.

OUTREACH BREEDS RESULTSThe BRE program is a young pro-

gram that has forged a pathway of out-reach and assistance in a variety ofareas in the Pearland business commu-nity. The "Pound the Pavement" dayshave proven to be a successful compo-nent of the BRE program In terms ofrelationship building. The aggressiveapproach we chose in reaching out tobusinesses turned out to be the right decision.Businesses are truly appreciative of the attentiongiven to them and the sincere desire on our part tohelp them.

Since its inception, the Pearland BRE programhas visited 92 companies and assisted 27 Pearlandcompanies in the following areas: provided cashgrants for expanding businesses to he used forrelocation expenses from a previous location withinthe city or for utility extension; re'vision of thecity's development codes and ordinances; expan-sion/relocation within Pearland; Foreign TradeZone activation; resolution of new developmentissues; guidance and facilitation through the devel-opment process; infrastructure issues and needs;and employee skills and job training.

By showcasing the mission, work, and resultsgenerated by the BRE program, the PEDC wasselected as one of seven finalists for CoreNetGlobal's 2005 Economic Development Award in theLeadership and Innovation category. The BRE pro-gram also won the 2nd Place award in the SpecialContinuing Education Student Recruitment Effortcategory at the Texas Association ContinumgEducation Conference.

LESSONS LEARNEDAs the BRE program continues to evolve and

expand, we have learned many constructive lessonsalong the way:Lesson 1: After we began pounding the pavementas a group, it became clear that the one getting the"pounding" was the PEDC because we were part of"the government." The businesses that originatedin the county, but were eventually annexed into thecity, were our unhappy customers. When theseowners buiU their facilities in the county, the build-ing requirements were less stringent than thoseimposed by the city. When it came time to expandfacilities, these owners were required to adhere tocurrently adopted city codes and ordinances, whichcost them more money.

In hearing these frustrations, the PEDCexplained the philosophy and rationale for the city

The BRE program is a young program that has forged apathway of outreach and assistance in a variety of areas in the

Pearland business community. The "Pound the Pavement" dayshave proven to be a successful component of the BRE program interms of relationship building, The aggressive approach we chosein reaching out to businesses turned out to be the right decision.

Businesses are truly appreciative of the attention given to themand the sincere desire on our part to help them.

Employee Training

Type of Training Number of Employees Trained

Supervisory Training

Welding

Communication Skills

Business Protocol & Etiquette

Accounting

CPR

Soldering Training

Computer Training

Command Spanish

Time Management

OSHA

ESL

100

codes and ordinances and how the business owner'smoney was being utilized hy the city By educatingthe owners, the city's regulations became a littlemore palatable. It didn't make the business ownersany happier to expend the extra funds, hut at leastthey understood the reasoning behind the regula-tions. Education is the key to everything.Lesson 2: In trying to achieve hig numbers toreport to the board, we found that big numberswere not necessarily effective numbers. The BREteam schedules one day a month to visit five to 10businesses. We tried a more frequent \isitationschedule, hut there was not enough time to address

Economic Development Journal / Fall 2005 31

ShawCor Pipe Protection - new

The establishment and execution of the BREprogram has not only been a journey of challenges,but it has been a fulfilling journey as well. The BRE

team genuinely enjoys helping our businesses;it is always a pleasure seeing business owners

fulfill their business goals and dreams.

and resolve the businesses' issues before launchinga new series of business visits and dealing with theirunique challenges. Therefore, limiting the visits toonce a month allows us time to address and resolvelhat months business issues before moving on to anew group of challenges. This has produced realis-tic reporting and effective customer ser\'ice.Lesson 3: Immediate follow-up communicationwith lhe business owner is imperative to buiidingprogram credibility. There is no reason to expendtime and resources on a program if a timely follow-up is not performed. We found that even if we didnot have the answers to business issues within aweek of the visit, we needed to call the businessowner and lell him or her that we were still work-ing on the issue. If we waited longer than a weekto check in, it seemed the business owner grewskeptical of our true intentions of helping him orher, therefore making it more difficult to get back inlhe door at a later date.

LOOKING AHEADAs we gain more time and experience in the pro-

gram, and by looking to other cities' best BRE prac-tices, we recognize we still have a long journeytoward program maturity.

The next step in the progratTt—which hasbegun— is to personally re-visit those companieswe visited a year ago. It has never been the inten-

tion of this program to visit businesses once andthen casually keep in touch. We are committed tokeeping in personal contact on a regular basis-Besides, the businesses are happy to see the team sothey can share their latest news with us. We also areworking to identify small businesses in the city thatwe did not know existed and to visit them.

In order to effectively promote the program, weare in the process of establishing a team name,brand, and logo for the program. As our promotionefforts increase and the word spreads among lhebusinesses about the program, we will be addinganother "Pound the Pavement" team to aid in fur-ther business outreach.

CONCLUSIONThe establishment and execution of the BRE pro-

gram has not only been a journey of challenges, buiit has been a iulfilling journey as well. The BREteam genuinely enjoys helping our businesses; it isalways a pleasure seeing business owners fulfilltheir business goals and dreams.

We want to continue to be of assistance to ourbusinesses. We will strive to make ihem happybecause not only are they positive contributors toour local economy, but they are our friends as well.We also want to spread the word about the impor-tance of the establishment of a BRE or outreachprogram as pan of a fully comprehensive economicdevelopment program. Economic developersmight be surprised to learn that their local busi-nesses are noi quite as happy as they thought andthat these businesses are craving the developers'attention. It is exciting to chase new developmentfor a city, but as with any business, it is easier toretain or grow current customers than to win newones.

32 Economic Development Journal / Fall 2005