Article

Developing your


Village?






CONSIDER A BUSINESS APPROACH



















































LYNCH & ASSOCIATES—ENGINEERING


CONSULTANTS, LLC

“Your community is



your BUSINESS”































In my 25+ years in the engineering industry I have been asked a lot of questions. One
question has been asked repeatedly in recent times. Communities are wondering how
they can grow and develop. I hear things like:


• Everything is developing around us but we can't seem to get any traction.
• We have done this or that but it doesn't seem to be working.
• What we’ve been doing isn't working, where are we going wrong?


There are no easy answers to these questions. There is no cookie cutter solution that
makes every community a development hub. It all comes down to hard work, strategy, and
staying focused on the end goal.



Communities should grow an understanding of the purposefulness of development.
Development is an investment, takes good business strategy, and culminates in a winning
environment for all parties. The best advice I can give... “Your community is your
business.”

If you are starting a business, there are
certain steps you take to make sure your
business startup is successful and

delivers the desired outcome you seek.


1. Development of a name and tagline
(Branding)

2. Developing and advertising an
effective message (Marketing)
3. Producing a strategic plan with

strategic goals that meet your vision
(Developing your Compass)

4. Work your plan for success
5. BE FLEXIBLE











Before I get into the explanation of

each of these 5 steps, it is important
your community can answer a few
questions. These will help guide you

through the 5 steps above.


1. Are you ready for serious develop-
ment?

2. Are community leaders, business
owners, and other stakeholders on
board?

3. Have you established your vision and
what success looks like?

1. Develop a name and tagline





Although you can't change the name of your community, you can add a vibrant

logo, a tagline, and perhaps a nickname to help communicate yourself. Branding
is necessary and helps people understand you in a glance. It also shows you care
about your message and your community. Effective branding can be the

difference between landing that large development you have been hoping for

and losing to the community up the street.






2. Development and advertising of an effective message






Communicating your brand to the outside world is key. Developers are a group
of investors looking to make a return on their money through the adding of

value, services, and brands to an area. If your brand doesn't match up to their
brand, there will be no success. Development requires partnerships and

everyone having the same goals although they may be organically different.



You must take the time to develop an effective message that speaks to your
vision so those around you understand what development is to your

community. For instance, if your message is “A Place To Call Home” and you
have an old run-down infrastructure that is showing its age, your tagline is

"rooted in the past", and you have no branding... your message is conflicted and
will not lead to confidence from the investment world. You must put your

community in the investor's shoes and understand they are looking to invest
money into your area. Be ready for the investment.

3. Producing a strategic plan with strategic goals that meets your vision




This is the most important step and can be done at any time of the planning stage.
You should have it in place before your activity to the outside world begins.

Simply, this is putting together the items you will need to make good decisions,
stay focused, and lead you in the proper directions to meet your vision. This is

your compass. If you have effective planning, making decisions becomes much
easier. For example, if your vision is to have an upscale shopping experience by

the interstate, you may not want to accept a proposal to divide large parcels of
property into small pieces making purchasing land for a large upscale shopping
experience more difficult.




Communities waste large amounts of time and money due to lack of strategic
planning. A compass always points north. Keep your community compass pointing
towards your goals and it will be harder for you to get off course.




4. Work your plan for success




There are plenty of old adages These are just a few. It takes time, money,
that help with explaining this support, passion, and a tireless effort to
section…. succeed. This is as much in business as it is in
community development. Most successful
• Anything in life worth doing

is worth doing right investors understand the amount of work that
goes into a successful development and can
• You get out what you put in
identify these attributes in a community from
• You spend money to make
miles away. You have to buckle down and work.
money Make strategic decisions bettering your place in
• You reap what you sow the market. Find a uniqueness to offer to your

• If you build it, they will developers. Invest in the proper infrastructure to

come support the desired development. You must

• Be Prepared display your prowess to the development mar-
ket. They want to know you are just as invested
in their success as they are. If you want to win in

development you must show your willingness.
Invest money in your vision.

5. SEMPER GUMBY (ALWAYS FLEXIBLE)




Be willing to adjust, think outside the box, and listen to your community, develop-
ers, trusted advisors, and look at situations from different perspectives all without
compromising your vision. You must be flexible yet stand on your vision. There are

several ways to get to the finish in this market, but your finish is the thing that you
put so much time and effort into planning so don’t compromise your end vision.

You can adjust it, but don’t lose sight of the end game.

If you have any questions, need guidance through any of
these processes, or would like me to come and sit down

with your community to talk through development, please
email me [email protected] or call

262.402.5040 and ask for Gary Randle.