BCEDC 2011 Annual Report: Aligning for Growth of our Future

Buchanan County has come through upside of the Great Recession in pretty good fashion from one year ago.  Many key statistics saw positive moves in 2011: lower unemployment, increased demand for workers, increased wages, retail sales are up, record high land values, increased school enrollments in many of our districts and higher deposits in our county financial institutions.  However, the 2010 census caused many of our communities concern with drops in population, a trend that is being seen in much of rural Iowa. But the close proximately of several commerce centers like Cedar Rapids and Waterloo/ Cedar Falls has caused our area to not see the dramatic drops that many rural communities are experiencing.

In the past year we have spent increased time with businesses and communities on economic development initiatives that are a result of growth in our area as we come out of the economic downturn. Local businesses are seeing increases in demand for their products and services, and most importantly are in need of quality workers to help grow their businesses into 2012. The economic environment has also given aspiring and seasoned entrepreneurs ambition to start or grow their ventures as we see the interest in business counseling service increasing.

This next year businesses and citizens have an increased optimism, albeit cautious-optimism, for the building of wealth in our area as a result of successful economic development efforts. It will be the objective of Buchanan County Economic Development to provide important guidance to help make these efforts successful.  We will need to align this organization for growth of our future by redeveloping strategic plans for partnership, businesses development and programming support for our investors and their constituents. We will look to evaluate this effort based on the work we can control, the impact our work is intended to achieve and how the innovations and leadership we display in our communities influences change in our area. As we align our organization, we will also collaborate with other organizations to align for future growth for Buchanan County and the Cedar Valley Region of Iowa.


View the full 2011 BCEDC Annual Report

Small Business Development Center to Offer Counseling in Independence

On Wednesday, January 25, Office 112: Center for Commerce and Economic Development, will begin hosting a representative from the Small Business Development Center for one-on-one counseling for local entrepreneurs and business leaders.  Dan Beenken, Director of the SBDC at the University of Northern Iowa’s Regional Business Center, will offer counseling the fourth Wednesday of the month in the Office 112 conference room at 112 First Street, East in Independence from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The SBDC sessions will offer clients assistance on startup issues, growing their business, as well as buying or selling a business.  Beenken assists entrepreneurs with questions related to legal organization, accounting, taxes, marketing strategy, social media, and other small business issues.  More information is available about the services at http://www.uni.edu/rbc. 

If you are interested in making an appointment with Mr. Beenken, please contact Office 112 at (319) 334-7178, or (319) 334-7497. Appointments will be 30-45 minutes in length.  Appointments are appreciated; walk-ins appointments will be taken based on availability. Confidentiality of information shared in your appointment with the representative is a priority for the SBDC and Office 112. 

Office 112 is a collaborative office environment made up of the Independence Area Chamber of Commerce and Buchanan County Economic Development that focuses on the increasing community and business development in Independence and Buchanan County Iowa