Economic Development and the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center

In all my running around networking in the community, it's always great to meet new people.  This morning I attended the monthly Network Business Connections (NBC) breakfast in Carson City.  The best part is getting out from behind the computer to actually meet people (wow, what a concept these days!).  And you get to sit next to folks and find out about what is happening at the grassroots level in the business community.

The guest speaker was Lance Gilman from the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC).  For those that have either met Mr. Gilman or listened to him speak, you definitely have to say he speaks his mind and is a real character.  That said, he spoke about the current state of economic development in the region from his perspective as developer of the TRIC.  For those of you that don't know the basics about the TRIC, this is one of the largest industrial parks of its kind in the USA.  In just the first phase, the park will support 100 million square feet in the first 5,000 acres, nearly tripling the existing industrial space in the Reno/Sparks area.  Completely outfitted with rail, fiber, power plants and other upgraded municipal services, TRIC is designed to make the biggest economic impact the region has ever seen.

A major point that Mr. Gilman promoted during his talk was the key skill of selling.  In his review of his background he talked about selling boats in San Diego during the OPEC oil embargo of 1973-1974 when gas was not being sold for boating, the lack of real selling skills at a well known motorcycle company and the ups and downs of real estate.  In so many words, he said that selling is a matter of mindset and not to listen to the news or read the newspapers and instead focus on the aspirations of our customers.  He also said that we cannot use the past to predict the future anymore, particularly with all the uncertainty coming from our government officials these days (with that last part with a little colorful language - loved it!).

In the end, the point that we all heard loud and clear, was that if the business community wants more efficiency from our government entities, it is up to us.

A big thanks to Kris Holt for bringing Mr. Gilman to speak to the group and providing assistance to economic development in the region and the community at-large.