Sonoma County BEST Launches Business Retention and Expansion Effort

Sonoma County BEST, the region’s first public-private partnership devoted to business success and job growth in Sonoma County, announced today the official launch of “100 in 100”, a strategic business retention and expansion effort that will reach 100 Sonoma County businesses in 100 days.

“Our embedded base of industry here in Sonoma County is most likely where additional jobs and investment will be created,” said Carolyn Stark, executive director of Sonoma County BEST. “Our goal is to concentrate our efforts first on our existing business and find ways we can help them expand as well as work to resolve issues preventing their growth.”

Organized efforts at business retention and expansion are done in other parts of the country as well as California. Richmond, Virginia attributes the creation of 1,045 new jobs and $68 million in new capital investment over five years specifically to its business retention and expansion program. The Sonoma County BEST program is the first county-wide business retention program in Sonoma County and has job growth goals of 2,500 jobs in the next five years.

“BEST is a public-private partnership,” said Anthy O’Brien, CEO of Top Speed Data in Petaluma, and chair of the BEST committee organizing the outreach effort. “We are building teams from throughout Sonoma County to be the 100 in 100 interview team. These volunteers are business people themselves, and likely will be able to connect with the company they are interviewing in ways the public sector may not be able to on their own.”

The “100 in 100” project has several goals, foremost being the identification of opportunities for Sonoma County businesses to expand as well as identifying businesses that are vulnerable to relocation outside the region. The program also plans to collect business success stories, find out specifically how local and state regulation may be impacting growth, and gather input from the region’s businesses for the Sonoma County BEST recruitment initiative.

“This initiative is critically important,” said Carolyn Stark. “We intend to meet, connect and build relationships with our Sonoma County businesses that will help them be successful. And, this is only the beginning of what will ultimately be an ongoing activity led by BEST.” The Sonoma County BEST 100 in 100 initiative will launch by the end of March and conclude by July 1, 2012.

About Sonoma County BEST

Launched in 2011, the Sonoma County Building Economic Success Together (“BEST”) is a public-private partnership operating as a 501(c)3 under the umbrella of the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce. Its purpose is to support business success and job growth in Sonoma County.