Marketing Your Community

Culpeper Star Exponent

Business Monday

August 4, 2015

Jim Charapich

When the Town Council initiates discussions about an economic development strategy for Culpeper, there are many areas to consider. A friend recently took a week-long course at a major university school of government where the following topics were part of the curriculum: Trends in Economic Development, Ethical Dilemmas in Economic Development, Strategic Planning for Economic Development, Business Attraction: Marketing Your Community, the Site Selection Process, Business Retention and Expansion, Financing Economic Development Projects, Real Estate Development and Reuse, Community Development, Workforce Development, Entrepreneurship and Business Creation, and Managing Economic Development Organizations.

The term Economic Development can take on many meanings. There has been discussion recently about laying the groundwork for Culpeper to be a Certified Retirement Community. The initiative led by the Town Manager has seemingly been supported in every discussion that I have heard and for good reason. It makes a lot of sense given our proximity to the major metro areas of NOVA, Washington DC, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, and even Richmond. Our rural environment and economic vitality are attractive, while delivering access to the high quality health care of the Culpeper Regional Hospital (University of Virginia Health System). We also have world class entertainment at the State Theatre of Culpeper and the Library of Congress Packard Theater,  These are but a few of the many outstanding attributes of Culpeper that line up with attracting retirees.

One area of promotional effort that I do not hear much about has potential additional opportunity for Culpeper. As is stated in the list above, one of the areas of economic development is “Marketing Your Community,” This is generally considered in two ways. One is to attract new business and the other is to attract visitors. The latter is typically confined to the hospitality industry such as hotels, restaurants, and retail venues. However, in speaking with many of our professional service businesses, there is an opportunity to attract a complimentary visitor to those traditionally driven by hospitality visits.

When a hair salon has developed a reputation for quality, booking services from Georgetown to Charlottesville, this is as powerful a draw as a restaurant or a retail shop. In fact, the clients often shop and eat while in Culpeper as part of the spa-like experience here. In addition, our CPAs, Attorneys, Wealth Management Professionals, and many other professional services provide similar draws from the affluent major metro areas proximate to Culpeper. Thus, promoting these services can and should be equally considered as we develop our economic development strategies. They pay the same unfair BPOL taxes and should see similar investment in promoting their business growth.