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Greenville County Councilman Fred Payne: More high-impact companies are needed

This article originally appeared as an op/ed in the Greenville News. Fred Payne of Simpsonville represents District 28 on the Greenville County Council.

New economic data show that per capita income in Greenville, as a percentage of the national average, has declined for an 11th straight year — from 101.3 percent in 1998 to 90.3 percent in 2009. Many Greenville business and civic leaders are calling for a focused effort to retain, attract and/or grow high-impact companies offering high-salary jobs which will help offset this decline in relative income.

As a Greenville County Council member, I believe one of the county’s primary responsibilities is to create a strategy and a proactive environment for attracting and growing high-impact companies.

What are the high-impact companies? What are Greenville’s best strategies to successfully attract high-impact economic development?

Doug Woodward, USC economist, has referred to high-impact entrepreneurs — those that have doubled revenues since the start of the Great Recession in the fall of 2007 — as the “cheetahs” of the business ecosystem. He points out that about 2.7 percent of companies created 66 percent of the state’s new jobs in the past five years. High-impact companies typically are knowledge-based, innovative and high tech. Greenville must focus energies on adapting its human capital and economic development perspectives and take advantage of its potential to expand high-impact jobs.

How will we know if we are achieving success?

Some people say that the two best indicators of economic development success are jobs and investments. While every new job created is important, I would argue that there is another metric that needs to be considered — salaries. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, average salaries in Greenville in 2009 were about $40,628. This is about 88.6 percent of the average U.S. salary. Even after adjusting for a lower cost of living in our region, Greenville’s salaries are below that of the nation. That is troubling.

How can the county promote high-impact jobs with high salaries? I believe there are two key facts that should drive county initiatives:

First, education is the best predictor of future income. High-impact companies require employees with more education. Thus, we need to aim to graduate 100 percent of all high school students and promote two types of post-secondary education for high-impact jobs.

1. Technical Education — Greenville Technical College has driven new job growth for over 40 years. Most high school students would benefit from specialized skill courses at GTC. Exemplary dual enrollment programs exist at Carolina High and Charter schools and should be expanded.

2. Higher Education and Research — The University Center at McAlister Square offers a range of bachelor’s and master’s programs with USC Upstate attracting about 700 of the 1,000 or so baccalaureate enrollments and Clemson enrolling about 70 percent of the master’s level students. Greenville needs to encourage USC Upstate to have a Greenville enrolment equal to Spartanburg — about 4,000 students; and Clemson to continue expanding programs in Greenville at CU-ICAR, the Falls Downtown, and at the University Center.

Second, we need to heed Roger Milliken’s formula for success: “Operational excellence secures the present. Innovation excellence secures the future.” Greenville should encourage and support research, innovation and entrepreneurial efforts in the private sector at every opportunity. Here are examples of innovation excellence that need expansion:

1. The Greenville Chamber’s NEXT initiative offers a wide variety of support for high-impact startups. The NEXT Innovation Center near County Square offers physical space and collaboration opportunities for these types of firms. Typically, high-impact firms pay more than $80,000 per year or double the average salary in Greenville County. Greenville needs to encourage more support through NEXT as well as the development of incubators where research is translated by engineers, technicians and entrepreneurs into commercial products.

2. Innoventure Southeast has offered forums since 2001 for major companies like Milliken, Michelin, GE, BMW and Sealed Air to interact with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. On May 10-11, Innoventure will bring together at Carolina First Center about 600 innovative thinkers, and “sparks will fly.” Economic developers across the Upstate need to attend and explain how the Upstate is a great host for new businesses that will grow out of this event.

If Greenville can attract more high-impact companies and raise our average salary so that our per capita income is equal to the national average, we will generate $1.6 billion more income in the county per year. Economic development of high-impact companies must be a primary goal for all leaders in the county and Upstate.