GREATER SACRAMENTO
DARRELL DOAN
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, CITY OF ELK GROVE
1 What are some of the incentives that make the Capital Region
friendly for business?
First, even without incentives, our region can be highly competitive owing to proximity to
the Bay Area, affordability vis-a-vis the Bay Area and Southern California, a renewed and
emerging dynamism in our urban core, and our high quality of life at an affordable price…
Nearly all our communities incentivize businesses through infrastructure development
and technical assistance which adds tremendous tangible monetary value to a project.
Many communities also offer financial incentives on a limited and case by case basis, depending
on the economic impact of the company. These can range from broad-based job
creation incentives to highly targeted industry-specific incentives. The important thing
to remember is that if a company wants to be in our region, our communities will find a
way to make that happen in a way that makes economic sense for both parties.
2 How do public-private partnerships in the Capital Region help drive economic growth?
Government alone can’t solve all our region’s economic problems, or leverage all our strengths, and neither can the private sector. We
are a middleweight region and we want to be a heavyweight region, and it will take a concerted effort by both the private and public
sectors to make that big jump in class. Luckily, with organizations like the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, Region Business, the
Metro Chamber, Valley Vision, SACOG, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, and our cities and counties working
together through the Economic Development Directors’ Task Force, our region is better positioned than ever to attract the kinds of
companies and jobs we lack, while supporting and growing the businesses we already have.
JAMES BECKWITH
CEO, FIVE STAR BANK
1 What do you like about doing business in the Capital Region?
There are several things. The region’s entrepreneurial spirit is really growing. It’s so different
than what it was just five years ago, it’s really remarkable. There’s more risk-taking,
people are more positive about their ability to grow their business and there are a lot
of high spirits about their prospects. I touch a lot of people throughout the day, everybody
across the region — whether they are in Placer County or Sacramento County or El
Dorado County or out in Yolo County — everybody senses that our region is on the rise.
2 What are some useful resources that local businesses can utilize
for growth and stability?
You’ve got locally based capital sources for your business, whether it’s debt or equity.
Debt in the form of several banks that are here or equity — from private investors, venture
funds, angel funds, private equity funds — the capital that is available for growth has
never been this good. You’ve got great economic development organizations, whether
it’s the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, or all the local chambers. Then you’ve got folks that help entrepreneurs and business
owners get better at what they’re about. For example, the Small Business Development Center here within the Capital Region is a great
resource. There are also CEO peer groups, Vistage is a collective of CEOs or C-level folks that are in a peer group of between 10 and 15
people. It’s a great organization in terms of getting focused, learning better ways to do things and getting different perspectives.
78 comstocksmag.com | December 2018