Feb-Mar 2003

The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce launched Tell the World! as a broad-based community initiative to create new jobs and a thriving business environment by growing existing businesses, encouraging entrepreneurship, and recruiting businesses to come to the area. Tell the World! is Chattanooga’s first effort to launch a comprehensive economic development strategy and fund it as a sustained effort over four years.

AN AGGRESSIVE STRATEGY One part of Tell the World! is an aggressive strategy to market the Chattanooga region, Enterprise South Industrial Park, and other key business assets to a list of target industries identified by recent market research. The strategy is utilizing an arsenal of marketing techniques: face-to-face sales efforts a Web site with site selection database, business statistics, and GIS tool a national public relations campaign direct mail to target industries advertising in trade publications for target industries

AN ENHANCED EFFORT At the same time, Tell the World! is coordinating and enlarging efforts to make Chattanooga a better place to do business for both existing industries and recruited businesses. These efforts include: workforce development initiatives for students in the education system and adults already in the workforce as well as recruiting developed talent advocating for business-friendly public policies encouraging entrepreneurial activity through the Business Development Center and High-Tech Incubator developing and recommending business climate initiatives and incentives to retain and expand existing business actively searching for synergistic expansion and relocation opportunities that will help existing businesses grow

AN ATTAINABLE GOAL The Chamber has set three goals for Tell the World! raise $9 million to sustain the comprehensive four-year effort facilitate the attraction of 20,000 net new jobs during a four-year time frame (2003-2007) work for the creation of 5,000 of the 20,000 net new jobs by recruiting new business to the Chattanooga region

8 KEY INITIATIVES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO TELL THE WORLD!

1) Business Development Center (BDC): This building on Cherokee Boulevard is used as a business incubator. The BDC offers below-market rent and other support to encourage entrepreneurs and business start-ups. The building is owned by Hamilton County and managed by the Chamber.

2) High-tech Incubator: Hamilton County has combined two federal grants to fund this initiative to support entrepreneurial efforts in the high-tech arena.

3) Enterprise South Industrial Park: In 2002, Hamilton County and the City of Chattanooga began developing approximately 1,200 acres of flat land between Highway 58 and Tyner as an industrial park. Enterprise South represents a stock of sites essential to attracting and expanding businesses. The Chamber is responsible for marketing Enterprise South.

4) Public education: Hamilton County has instituted a battery of initiatives that are already beginning to yield real results in student performance. Improving education is critical to workforce development.

7) MetroNet: Inspired by Mayor Corker’s Digital Vision, MetroNet makes Chattanooga one of only a few mid-sized cities with a gigabit digital pipeline. MetroNet provides low-cost, high-speed data transfer in tandem with Chattanooga’s excellent telecommunications infrastructure. This combination makes Chattanooga an ideal location for high-end office operations.