1. Welcome
The Creative Economy:
Ideas, Industry & Innovation

2. Agenda
Dashboard
Speakers
Q&A
Follow-Up

3. Pranab Shah
Consultant
Yfactor, Inc.

4. Pranab Shah
Consultant
Yfactor Inc.
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/pranabshah

7.  Knowledge based activities, focused
on but not limited to arts,
potentially generating revenues
from trade and intellectual property
rights
 Creation, production and
distribution of goods and services
that use creativity and intellectual
capital as primary inputs
 It can foster income generation, job
creation and export earnings while
promoting social inclusion, cultural
diversity and human development

8.  Posses many place
based qualities and
characteristics
 Alternative
opportunity to
promote prosperity
 Rethink – revaluate
– reset
 TTT is not directly
applicable

9. To attract the creative
economy means attracting
the creative worker.
People first – businesses
ought to follow.

10. Commercial
Counterurbanites Counterurbanites
 People who migrate from  Those who start a business
urban to rural places in the rural place they
move to
 Term coined by Gary
Bosworth (2010)
Residential Local
Rural business
move embeddedness

11.  England
• Create more jobs
• Higher returns
• Growth-oriented
• Export-based  St. Peter’s, Nova Scotia
• Own 2/3 of rural
CCU Local
businesses
Business Owners 14 10
Businesses 15.5 9.5
Employees 71 26
Avg Business Age 10.5 yrs 13.7 yrs

12.  Networks provide: Externally-sourced inputs for
local business creation
• Ideas
• Advice Social and
business
• Encouragement networks
Resources
• Capital (i.e.
capital,
Business
re-location
• Socio-political expertise)
Local
business
influence creation
Source: Madden (2012) with inspiration from Ray (2001) and
Bosworth (2010)

13.  Wants and needs:
• Less pressure
• Shorter commute
• Cheaper lifestyle
• Recreation amenities
• To raise their kids in the country
• To be near their families
• To feel part of the community
• Stable business

14.  Highly educated
 Earning about $ 50,000.00 annually
 Working long hours, preferring them to be flexible
 Working in technology, finance, the law or
marketing
 Creative problem solvers
 Unafraid to take chances
 Unconventional and highly supportive of
individuality and differences
 Happiest at bistros and concerts where personal
interaction is important
 Using outdoor recreational amenities regularly
 Raising the children they have to respect these
values
 Continuing to live this way as they age

15.  Initiative vs.
obedience
 Creative vs. intellect
 Passion vs. diligence

16.  Define you local community – not just
economy
 High % of self starters and entrepreneurs
 They are the driving force behind small and
medium size companies
 Excellent brand and place ambassadors
 Tend to support ‘local buying’ – they put
money back into the local economy!

17.  Quality vs. Quantity
 Marketing to people vs. businesses/investors
 Your community’s TTT
 Quirky. Unique. Vibrant.

18.  Work life balance
 Mobility
 Amenities
 Blend of work and leisure
 Sense of place
 Active lifestyle
 Alternative arts and culture
 The environment
 Diversity
 Creativity and innovation

19. What you think of yourself may
not be what others think of you.
Don’t be presumptuous.
There is something ‘cool’ about
your individual community – but
who is the individual who wants to
be in your community?

20.  What is quality of place? Why is it so
important? Why is it so generic?
 What is your community’s appeal? Why do
people live there? Why do YOU live there?
 What are your intangible assets?

21.  Redefining place based competitive
advantage.
 You have what you have! – Rethink,
revaluate, reset.
 Entrepreneurs start up businesses in locations
where they want to live – work needs to be
fun.
 Market what is fun in your community.

25.  Economic gardening.
 Unique. Quirky. Vibrant.
 Grow your own – and brag about successes.
 Enable and enhance local abilities.
 Not just about marketing – its also about
communicating.
 Stop looking at the external market only..

29.  Websites
• Interactive
• Experience based
• Visual
• Exciting

31.  Social media
• To attract. To retain. To involve. To stay top of
mind.
• Separate social media strategy IS required.
• Generally this maybe the primary source of
marketing (as per the audience).

33.  Maintain quality of place.
 Continue to develop products and programs.
 Get them involved in the process.
 Remain technically relevant.
 Policy support for necessary infrastructure
development.
 LONG TERM VISION!!!

35.  There’s a straightforward message here for all
those places that want to attract and retain
more of the talented people. In addition to
doing all the useful and important things they
are doing to bolster their business climate and
create and project jobs, it’s critically
important they improve their overall quality of
place and build a people climate were
residents can forge and maintain meaningful
social ties. This is not a case of either-or;
but rather a case of and-both.

36. Q&A
Please send your questions via the Chat or
Question widget on your dashboard.

37. Pranab Shah
pshah@yfactor.com
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/pranabshah