Plano's Economic Development Efforts Recognized During Economic Development Week

Economic Development Week and Small Business Week are both great reminders of the important role businesses play in shaping strong, vibrant communities. Here in Plano, we are fortunate to have an outstanding Plano, Texas Economic Development team that works every day to support business attraction, retention, expansion, and long-term investment in our city. I’m grateful for the talent, professionalism, and commitment this team brings to serving Plano’s business community. But economic development does not happen in one department alone. It takes every department across the City of Plano to create a community where businesses of all sizes can succeed — from planning, engineering, public works, building inspections, parks and recreation, public safety, communications, Visit Plano, and many others who help make this city a place where companies want to invest, employees want to work, and families want to live. This week, we celebrate the small businesses, major employers, entrepreneurs, and community partners that help drive Plano’s economy forward. We also celebrate the teamwork behind the scenes that makes that success possible. Proud to be part of Team Plano. #planotexas #planotx #cityofplano #plano #cityofexcellence #teamplano #economicdevelopment #smallbusiness #smallbusinessweek #economicdevelopmentweek

Socioeconomic mobility is not driven by a single intervention - but by a small number of reinforcing levers. Across research and practice, the fastest improvements in mobility tend to emerge when action is focused on a few structural and behavioural drivers that compound over time. 💎 Key insight: Mobility accelerates when individuals and communities are supported across income, stability, assets, ownership and ecosystem development - not in isolation, but as a connected system. 📍 Fastest levers of socioeconomic mobility: 1. Increase income - improving access to employment pathways, job placement and recognised certifications 2. Stabilise households - strengthening financial literacy, budgeting capability and responsible access to credit 3. Build assets - enabling savings, homeownership and long-term investing behaviours 4. Create ownership - supporting entrepreneurship and pathways to business creation 5. Multiply impact - developing community-based business ecosystems that reinforce local opportunity The greatest gains in mobility come not from isolated support, but from aligning these levers so they reinforce one another over time. #growthworlds #growthmatters #keepgrowing

Economic development is not a neutral process; it is the accumulation of decisions about capital, access, infrastructure, and leadership that determine how a region grows and who that growth is built for. This week, as practitioners, policymakers, and investors pause to mark #EconomicDevelopmentWeek, we find ourselves returning to a foundational question: Are we building systems that expand what's possible, or ones that simply expand what already exists? At Sonder VC, we've built our work around a core belief: that proximity to a problem is one of the most undervalued forms of insight. Communities long overlooked by traditional capital aren't working around constraints. They're building from them. That means backing founders building the infrastructure of well-being: childcare and aging care, wealth-building models, civic and housing innovation, community-driven technology, and the resilient industries anchoring regional economies. It means designing capital strategies that are catalytic, not extractive. And it means ensuring that community voice isn't an afterthought in decision-making spaces, it's the starting point. Economic development done well doesn't just open doors. It restructures who holds the keys. This Economic Development Week, we're grateful to the founders, community leaders, and partners who remind us daily that the most powerful economic development strategies don't start in boardrooms, they start with people who know their communities best and have the vision to build what's missing. That's the work that endures. #EconDevWeek #EconomicDevelopment #EconomicRecovery #ImpInv #impactinvesting #communitycapital #catalyticcapital International Economic Development Council

Economic Development Week often highlights major investments, new developments and job creation. But there is another layer of economic development happening every day in our downtowns, main streets and commercial districts. Business Improvement Areas are often the quiet force behind that work. They support hundreds of local businesses, respond to daily challenges, strengthen district identity, animate public spaces and help turn community activity into local economic impact. And they often do it with lean teams, tight budgets and growing expectations. No one understands a district quite like the people working in it every day. BIAs see the patterns, pressure points and opportunities that do not always show up in a report. They know what businesses are hearing, where gaps exist, how foot traffic shifts and what their communities need next. Local businesses are what give our communities character. They create jobs, keep dollars circulating close to home and give people a reason to spend time in a place. This week is a good reminder that BIAs are not just part of the economic development ecosystem. They are one of its most important connectors.

Sustainable growth is essential in senior housing. I’m proud to represent Life Enriching Communities at the 2026 National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) Growth Conference in Indianapolis on May 13–14, where I'll speak in the "Technology & Data: From Nice-to-Have to Growth Prerequisite" session. We will discuss how technology and data have become prerequisites for senior living growth, rather than a side project. Investors and capital partners increasingly expect reliable data, clear reporting, accessible performance metrics, and scalable systems that can accommodate growth, or they may walk away without them. Let’s focus on smart, sustainable progress. #NICGrowth #LEC Lauren Wilson Summer Blizzard Adam Benton Bob Kramer Lisa McCracken

Most people only see the 30 seconds of economic development that make the news. They never see the years behind it. The ribbon cuttings with politicians, including members of Congress, senators and governors. The announcements. That public side of the work looks great, but it’s a small part of the role. What most people never see is everything that happens in the background. Here’s what economic development also is: - Long days and late nights in strategy sessions and on whiteboards, trying to understand what will resonate with decision makers you may never meet. - Working through detailed RFPs and RFIs even sometimes on weekends and holidays. - Figuring out how to tell the compelling yet lesser-known story of a region rich with assets like a skilled workforce, affordable cost of living and accessibility to 60% of the U.S. population within a day’s drive. It includes coordinating utilities, transportation, environmental reviews, site preparation, incentive packages and conversations with local and state leaders who likely don't see all of those moving parts. Most good economic developers are not working a traditional 40-hour week. Many are regularly in the 50- to 60-hour range. And for every successful project announcement, you may have poured the same level of effort into 10, 20, or 30 or even more projects that never make the news. Most of that work is confidential and never sees the light of day. But all that work is the reason those “big moments” matter so much more when they happen.

Why ecosystems matter more than most local businesses realise Most businesses don’t struggle because of a lack of effort, ideas or ambition. They struggle because the system around them is hard to see. Every local business sits inside an ecosystem - other businesses. Skills and talent. Funders. Support. Infrastructure. Culture. Policy. Relationships. When that ecosystem works well, things feel easier. Opportunities surface faster. Decisions feel clearer. Collaboration happens naturally. Growth doesn’t rely on luck. When it doesn’t, even good businesses can feel isolated. Support feels fragmented. Progress slows. And problems start to feel personal when they’re actually structural. What ecosystem mapping shows, time and again, is that thriving local economies aren’t built on individual brilliance alone. They’re built on visibility, connection and shared understanding. When business communities can see who’s around them, how things connect, and where the gaps really are, they make better decisions together. Investment becomes more targeted. Support becomes more relevant. And businesses spend less time reacting and more time choosing their next move. Local businesses don’t need more noise. They need a clearer view of the system they’re already part of. That’s why ecosystems matter. Our whitepaper coming soon → https://lnkd.in/e24x8_jN

Why ecosystems matter more than most local businesses realise Most businesses don’t struggle because of a lack of effort, ideas or ambition. They struggle because the system around them is hard to see. Every local business sits inside an ecosystem - other businesses. Skills and talent. Funders. Support. Infrastructure. Culture. Policy. Relationships. When that ecosystem works well, things feel easier. Opportunities surface faster. Decisions feel clearer. Collaboration happens naturally. Growth doesn’t rely on luck. When it doesn’t, even good businesses can feel isolated. Support feels fragmented. Progress slows. And problems start to feel personal when they’re actually structural. What ecosystem mapping shows, time and again, is that thriving local economies aren’t built on individual brilliance alone. They’re built on visibility, connection and shared understanding. When business communities can see who’s around them, how things connect, and where the gaps really are, they make better decisions together. Investment becomes more targeted. Support becomes more relevant. And businesses spend less time reacting and more time choosing their next move. Local businesses don’t need more noise. They need a clearer view of the system they’re already part of. That’s why ecosystems matter. Our whitepaper coming soon → https://lnkd.in/e24x8_jN

Why ecosystems matter more than most local businesses realise Most businesses don’t struggle because of a lack of effort, ideas or ambition. They struggle because the system around them is hard to see. Every local business sits inside an ecosystem - other businesses. Skills and talent. Funders. Support. Infrastructure. Culture. Policy. Relationships. When that ecosystem works well, things feel easier. Opportunities surface faster. Decisions feel clearer. Collaboration happens naturally. Growth doesn’t rely on luck. When it doesn’t, even good businesses can feel isolated. Support feels fragmented. Progress slows. And problems start to feel personal when they’re actually structural. What ecosystem mapping shows, time and again, is that thriving local economies aren’t built on individual brilliance alone. They’re built on visibility, connection and shared understanding. When business communities can see who’s around them, how things connect, and where the gaps really are, they make better decisions together. Investment becomes more targeted. Support becomes more relevant. And businesses spend less time reacting and more time choosing their next move. Local businesses don’t need more noise. They need a clearer view of the system they’re already part of. That’s why ecosystems matter. Our whitepaper coming soon → https://lnkd.in/e24x8_jN

Why ecosystems matter more than most local businesses realise Most businesses don’t struggle because of a lack of effort, ideas or ambition. They struggle because the system around them is hard to see. Every local business sits inside an ecosystem - other businesses. Skills and talent. Funders. Support. Infrastructure. Culture. Policy. Relationships. When that ecosystem works well, things feel easier. Opportunities surface faster. Decisions feel clearer. Collaboration happens naturally. Growth doesn’t rely on luck. When it doesn’t, even good businesses can feel isolated. Support feels fragmented. Progress slows. And problems start to feel personal when they’re actually structural. What ecosystem mapping shows, time and again, is that thriving local economies aren’t built on individual brilliance alone. They’re built on visibility, connection and shared understanding. When business communities can see who’s around them, how things connect, and where the gaps really are, they make better decisions together. Investment becomes more targeted. Support becomes more relevant. And businesses spend less time reacting and more time choosing their next move. Local businesses don’t need more noise. They need a clearer view of the system they’re already part of. That’s why ecosystems matter. Our whitepaper coming soon → https://lnkd.in/e24x8_jN