Economic development, in whatever form you choose to look at, is accomplished by small business.  The main goal of government should be to simply get out of the way.  Government, local to federal, rarely produce environments that are conducive to economic growth and often produce legislation that actually inhibits growth.  So, when we hear talk about how government entities are creating jobs and stimulating the economy, it falls deaf on the ears of small business owners.

Our company, Bit-Wizards, will celebrate 10 years in business in February 2010.  It is this milestone that got us thinking about our own economic impact.  Even though it is not a concern of most start-ups, it is how the economy of our country is fueled.

As Vince (my business partner) and I have been reflecting on where we started and how far we have come, we began to realize that we have indeed had a positive economic impact on our little part of the world.

To be honest, we are quite proud of what we have accomplished.  To be sure, we started with a specific, long-term vision of what type of company we wanted to build.  It was never our intention to follow the path of so many technology companies whose end goal is only to sell the company for a huge profit.  Because of our work experience, we made it our priority to create a work environment conducive to software engineers.  An environment in which creativity and innovation would thrive.  One with the latest tools and technologies so as not to stifle that creativity with frustration.  We strove to create a corporate culture based on hiring top talent no matter where we found them and treating them well to inspire loyalty and a sense of ownership.  Often, this has meant going outside of Northwest Florida, but for entry-level positions we chose to only hire locally.  This requires an investment in those individuals of a year or two, but has paid huge dividends for our company.  Additionally, we wanted to focus on building software that provides business solutions.  Sometimes that involves using some cool new technologies, but often it doesn’t.  True to this goal, we have focused on setting the business case as our priority. Too often technology companies focus on technology and forget that it is the business case that is most important.

So, what does our success have to do with economic development?

Well, by creating a place where software engineers want to work, we are able to recruit some of the most talented people in the country.  When we hire a senior software engineer, that person (and their family) moves to our area.  Our senior-level engineers are well paid, making far above the average income for Northwest Florida and have a comprehensive set of benefits as well.  Instead of outsourcing to freelance engineers in other states or even other countries, all of our staff works directly for our company at our location in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  So, those high paid engineers are now contributing to our economic base through their everyday purchases.  They buy homes, pay taxes, contribute to their church, and impact our economy in many other ways.

Producing our work locally is key to economic development and for us that means the knowledge and experience of our software engineers.  Bringing in top talent adds to our economic base but we also need to keep the talent we have here.  We have several institutions of higher education locally, but unfortunately, most of these young adults have very few options locally upon graduation.  More often than not, they are forced to look outside the area for good paying jobs.  Many of them will not return as Vince and I were able to do.  They will plant roots elsewhere.

Bit-Wizards has been able to keep a few of those graduates here by only hiring locally for entry-level positions.  This is not done out of a philanthropic mindset, but of a decision that makes good business sense. Yes, it does take a little time for someone right out of college to get up to speed, but it makes better business sense to hire someone fresh out of college and train them properly than to hire someone with just a couple of years of experience and try to correct bad habits they may have picked up from another company or organization.  We also save on moving costs typically associated with hiring from outside the area.  Additionally, local entry-level candidates are eager, energetic, and unspoiled.

The biggest economic impact Bit-Wizards has had in this area is the sale of our services to national and international customers.  Bit-Wizards produces custom software for companies.  It is a product that is easily transported around the world in seconds.  This allows us to sell our products to companies around the country and around the world.  Most of our biggest clients are outside our local area, which means the revenue produced by Bit-Wizards is an influx of capital from other communities rather than the transfer of capital inside our community.

The economic impact of our business can also be seen in the local charities we have supported over the past 10 years.  Like many other small businesses, we have donated tens of thousands of dollars to great causes like Covenant Hospice, BEST Robotics, Special Olympics, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Shred Out Cancer, Florida Sheriff’s Association, YMCA, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, The Greg Hamilton Family Fund, Taylor Haugen Foundation, The Junior League of Fort Walton Beach, Bruner Middle School Cheerleaders, Choctaw High School Cheerleaders, Public Service Announcements, and many more.  Bit-Wizards also supports organizations that provide services to the business community.  Organizations we have supported include the Northwest Florida Ballet, Gulf Coast .NET Users Group, Gulf Coast Technology Council, Gulf Coast IT, AFCEA, EDC, and more. For many of these groups we are financial supporters of the scholarship funds that help students in the local area pursue high tech degrees at our local universities.

We have also built and host several web sites to support organizations and charities that benefit our area including:

Mary Esther Elementary
Bit Wizards: http://maryestherelementary.bitwizards.com/
Old Site: http://maryestherelementary.com/

Eglin Aero Club
http://www.eglinaeroclub.com/

Daedalians Flight 61
http://www.daedalianflight61.org/

Choctawhatchee High School Marching Band
http://www.stylemarchers.org/

Taylor Haugen Foundation
http://taylorhaugen.org/

IT Gulf Coast
http://www.itgulfcoast.org/

Through our contributions, these charities and organizations are able to carry out their missions, which provide economic development in a multitude of ways such as education, networking, business opportunity, increased capital, and more.

By some accounts, small businesses employ nearly 70 percent of the workforce in America.  Our impact on the economy cannot be understated.  While government at all levels are focused on what they think they should be doing to weather the current downturn, small business like ours are actually pressing forward, hiring people, investing in marketing, and devoting time and efforts to industry events.

Our focus is on continuing to build our business as we have done for the past decade.  Bit-Wizards made the list of Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest growing companies this year for the first time.  At the conference, we met other business owners who are doing the same thing we are doing.  They have experiences similar to our own and are seeing similar results.  This encourages us and should encourage other small business owners. Small businesses drive the economic engine of this great country.  Governments and their economic development arms need only get out of the way.