In the past two years, there has been a significant shift in thinking about economic development. At the 2015 Economic Forecast Conference of the Economic Development Council of Seattle & King County, the five main priorities addressed involved foreign investment and exports. At the 2017 conference, the speakers emphasized making sure that economic development serves all and does not leave sectors of the population behind.

In practice, economic development translates into encouragement of business and entrepreneurship. Too often, this is restricted to encouraging large companies to locate here.

There are several organizations seeking to aid local small business and stimulate entrepreneurship, but there is still a fundamental disconnect between these services and the people who can benefit from them.

The City of Redmond received a grant of $500,000 for economic development. How can this money be used to stimulate local residents’ small businesses rather than completely focusing on recruiting large companies and aiding those who are starting with a large investment?

Small business development centers, the state office of women and minority-owned business and other agencies need to establish an open-door policy of meeting with all persons seeking self employment and not screen and “refer.” Referring people does not work when there are no matching programs to refer people to.

Workshops and community programs need to be planned with low costs. They need to be planned at the public library without catered food and with free admission.

Business and professional license and exam fees are a barrier to progress. Professional license fees should be based on income once it is generated, not as an obstacle to entry. Municipalities such as Redmond should issue a business license for free until the business crosses a threshold of revenue.

The model of a retail business plan and debt should not be the only paradigm promoted in small business programs. People should receive advice and mentoring to grow small service businesses from scratch.

Accountability in nonprofits is resulting in inflexible instructional programs rather than “what do you need” services meeting individual needs.

Last, small businesses need access to infrastructure, such as website hosting, private office space, advertising, software and equipment. Public hosting can be offered instead of cash grants or loans. The Seattle Public Library is innovative in part of this, having the full suite of Adobe software on its computers.

It is incumbent upon the City of Redmond to review how economic development money is directed and move away from limited traditional paradigms.

Linda Seltzer

Redmond