PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Lorain County Business Connection is a business outreach program sponsored by the Lorain County Growth Partnership. It is a collaborative effort focused on business retention and expansion that complements existing Lorain County programs and outreach efforts.

HOW IT WORKS
Key Lorain County partners will conduct in-depth interviews with local companies. Data from these interviews will assist individual companies to meet their business needs and will also provide critical data on county-wide and industry trends. Individual company survey data will be strictly confidential and only used in aggregate reporting. Once information from each business is recorded and analyzed, a comprehensive, wide range of useful company and community specific information can be tracked.

PROGRAM BENEFITS

• Assess the individual needs of local companies.
• Coordinate business visits among different organizations to avoid confusion and hardship on employers being visited by more than one organization.
• Enhance targeting of workforce development resources on employers with workforce needs.
• Provide companies a better understanding of their role in our local economy.
• Provide a pro-active, systematic approach to county-wide retention and expansion.
• Integrate with other state and regional initiatives, e.g. the skills bank initiative and Project TEN.
• Provide more efficient and effective communications between LGCP partners and the local business community
• Track industry and company trends

OUR VISION
The Lorain County Growth Partnership (LCGP) provides a single point of access to the services of government, education, business and community organizations. LCGP partners collaborate to help local organizations and businesses compete more efficiently and effectively in the global marketplace.

YEAR 1 HIGHLIGHTS 

• Completed  104 interviews with a representative sample of local businesses
• Developed a county-wide database with data for more than 5,000 companies
• Inventoried 85 high-demand properties

In general, companies that participated in Business Connection appreciated the one-stop approach from Growth Partners, the proactive approach to business retention and the focus on their needs during the interviews. Despite the current economy, most companies had a positive outlook on their long-term business opportunities.

At the Growth Partnership, our focus is on YOU, the businesses that call Lorain County home. Through Business Connection we will systematically engage local businesses to help develop a collective, shared vision among partners for the successful future growth of Lorain County.

At the Growth Partnership, we've learned that by communicating openly, pooling our resources and partnering with local businesses, we all achieve more.

The key to success is . . . The Power of Collaboration.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Phil Mikita
226 Middle Avenue, Fifth Floor
Elyria, Ohio 44035
(440) 328-2364