Economic development associations need to be extremely careful when recruiting new businesses to their region. For instance if they are recruiting a high-tech firm which will be doing some manufacturing that may need to be cognizant of the supply chain for that particular business and that particular industry.

So often what I see is that an economic development association will come up with a comprehensive plan which spans all industries rather than focusing on which types of businesses have the best chances for success within their region based on the availability of the raw materials and flows of the supply chain; including those support businesses they will need to succeed. Simply recruiting a big high-tech firm with high-paying jobs and providing public monies for expansion of roads, sewers and energy sources is not enough.

Certainly all those things are needed and considered