The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

  This REI thing got me thinking again about how we as a city can take an extra step to help local businesses thrive, grow and expand to other cities and states.

  I know personally that if I were a local sports store for instance that had the goal of becoming the next "REI", (not that I had even heard of them before this recent debacle with the park) and I saw that this out of town company got a sweetheart deal from the city with cheap land in a prime location etc. (not to mention all the free advertising they just got) that I would be really upset.  As a local business I care a lot about the city, and then to see the city care more about the outsider than the local is very frustrating.

  I will watch the city and groups like TYPROS bend over backwards to reach out and try to bring in this or that retailer, shower them with attention, do publicity campaigns, etc.  But surely there are local businesses that have some unique or "cool factor" about them and dream of making it big, that with as much attention could really make a go of it.


 I almost wish there were a way to identify local companies that have a special and unique vision, and a desire to grow and expand, and then a way to focus some attention, connections, expertise and resources towards those companies to give them a little boost to help them achieve their goals.  No, I am not talking about "business incubators" and such, starting a business is only 1 tiny step in a long process. 

It should be that our focus is more on helping local businesses become businesses that other cities want in their cities, versus us going out and trying to get other cities businesses to move to ours.