|
January 2004
Business Leaders . . . A Call To Action
A current Tri-ED study of the future of economic development in Northern Kentucky has revealed a very important point. The study by Austin, Texas based AngelouEconomics tells us that 70% of the future growth in Northern Kentucky will come from newly created business enterprises and 30% will come from companies recruited into Northern Kentucky.
As one of Northern Kentucky’s leading organizations focused on “newly created business enterprises,” we at the Madison E-Zone have examined how we could raise our leadership efforts another notch in this arena. Step one is quite easy – Who best to support new business enterprise creation than all existing Northern Kentucky businesses? No, we are not asking for investment dollars. We are asking you to simply consider being a customer of the new business enterprises. Did you know that having customers can be more important than investment capital for a new business? Why? Because if you have customers, the investment capital will seek out and find our newly created business enterprises!
Therefore, over the next few months, I am going to introduce you to some of the newly created businesses in Northern Kentucky. I think that you will be surprised at the size and strength of these companies. The key – Learn about them, call them, and consider becoming a customer!
Our first company I would like you to meet is Tier 1 Performance Solutions. Tier 1 began its life in the E-Zone in 2002. The founders were Norm Desmarais and Kevin Moore. In 2003, their business had outgrown the E-Zone and they were ready for a private sector location. After beginning in Covington, they wanted to stay in the Covington Technology Corridor and relocated one block from the E-Zone. They, along with other local partners, bought the building at the corner of 5th and Madison. They have been both running a business and rehabbing a historic building.
Tier 1 helps organizations use knowledge to drive performance improvements. Tier 1 focuses on knowledge management, change management, learning solutions and the application of technology to improving employee performance. In their first 12 months in business, Tier 1 surpassed $1.5M in revenue and provided solutions for companies like Fidelity, Wendy's, Federal Express, Bloomberg, Kraft Foods, GE and Ashland, among others.
Tier 1's solutions include learning strategy and design, project development, learning technologies, and resources. Nearly 60% of Tier 1's 20+ employees has a graduate degree with a heavy education expertise focused on how Knowledge is used in organizations. Tier 1's consultants have provided numerous two-day workshops that range from developing a blended learning strategy to achieving a positive ROI (return on investment) on knowledge management. The project teams have created custom web-based courseware to support enterprise software rollouts, learning management systems to track and manage e-learning, and knowledge management tools. Tier 1 has successfully used their project experience to develop a product suite of 6 web-based learning and knowledge management tools. These tools allow a very cost-effective entry into a shifting e-learning and knowledge management industry that has been cost-prohibitive for many companies. Tier 1 customizes these solutions to meet clients' individual business needs.
Business leaders . . . Please have a conversation with blank blank at Tier 1. I am not asking you to buy something you do not need . . . I am asking you to support our new business enterprises by giving a good hard look to see if a company’s services might be used by your company. Remember, you will be supporting the future economy of Northern Kentucky.
Casey Barach is the Executive Director at the Madison E-Zone and can be reached at cbarach@madisone-zone.com or 859-292-7781. |