#AmarilloIsOpen Program will provide funds to a limited number of small businesses

Yesterday, the Amarillo City Council approved a budget amendment proposed by the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (EDC) that allows the launch of the #AmarilloIsOpen program. This initiative allows local businesses to become marketing partners with the Amarillo EDC. This ratification follows the Amarillo EDC’s Board of Directors approval on May 18, 2020.

Organizations ban together to launch website to support local businesses

The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (Amarillo EDC) in partnership with the Northwest Texas Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the WT Enterprise Center, and Workforce Solutions Panhandle, launched a website of business and employee resources specific to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in an effort to help citizens stay informed and make appropriate business decisions.

Following January's State of the Economy event, the Amarillo EDC is providing its full 2020 Economic Outlook Report. As the event was designed to be informative for the community, business owners, and students. The following materials were made to be a resource to help community members make informed decisions moving into this year. 

The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (Amarillo EDC) announced details for the organization’s Second Annual State of the Economy event to be held on January 22, 2020 at 7:30 a.m. in the Heritage Room of the Amarillo Civic Center, 401 S Buchanan St. The event will provide a brief update of Amarillo’s economic outlook and feature a keynote speech discussing macroeconomic issues and how they impact our community.

During the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation’s latest episode of Build Your Talent Toolbox, Sam Silverstein, national keynote speaker, helped employers see the value in building a culture to retain the right employees. Sam teamed up with Cal Zant, President of Betenbough Homes, a local employer in Amarillo, Lubbock, and Midland.  After they shared their experience and expertise on work culture, Sabrina Meck Perez, AEDC Director of Workforce Attraction & Retention, sat down with both Sam and Cal to share their thoughts with you on the importance of being purposeful with work culture.

As we visit with many businesses, it becomes clear that a prominent challenge facing employers is the opportunity to engage with local students in a way that offers the greatest impression with minimal amount of sacrifice in work productivity. This is why the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) highlighted Junior Achievement of the High Plains in our first “Build Your Talent Toolbox” event. Junior Achievement (JA) helps employers bridge this gap and provides staff an opportunity to interact with local students.

You’re only as strong as your team. And a company is only as strong as its workforce. We know businesses, cities, educators, non-profits and everyone in between is constantly looking for the right talent who will stick around and be assets for their organization. But it is tough! With low unemployment, labor participation and new generations entering the workforce, the challenges of recruiting, retaining and engaging employees can be daunting and harmful to a business.

Melissa Sager is a millennial, senior designer at Cre8 Direct, Inc. and the owner of Things Like Us. Born and raised in Amarillo, Sager moved away to attend the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. Fifteen years later, after she and her husband had their first child, she moved back to her hometown.

Could living in a mid-sized city actually be advantageous for your business?

According to a recent study, this may be the case.

The Amarillo EDC and the West Texas A&M Enterprise Center is sending eight local entrepreneurs to represent our thriving business community at the INC. 5000 Conference & Gala in San Antonio in October. Each of the attendees has offered to contribute a blog about their experiences as an entrepreneur working in the Texas Panhandle. This is a guest post by Jacob Moreno,‎ co-founder of Altura Engineering & Design.

As I think back to my adolescent years and try to figure out why I wanted to be an entrepreneur, there are two people that come to mind. One is my dad, “Jimmy” Casimero Moreno, and the other is a group of people, the migrant workers I spent my summers with.

We often look back and wonder how it is that we find ourselves in the positions we’re in, but in my case, I know exactly what drove me to start my own business. It was the lessons that my father and the migrant workers taught me.