Now is the time to kick-off a new century of prosperity in Fond du Lac. But in order to do so, we need to change the way we think, train, and innovate. Why shouldn’t Fond du Lac be one of the Midwest’s primary hubs for entrepreneurship, small business start-ups, and quality job growth? With the right investments and a mixture of hard work and cooperation, we have that potential.
But first, it is important to change the conversation on how we think about regionalism and competition. Fond du Lac sits within a complex metro region located along I-41, where there are multiple city centers of roughly 40,000 – 100,000 people in size lined up right next to each other. Some think that Fond du Lac competes with Green Bay, or Oshkosh competes with Appleton. But truly, these cities function collectively as an economic region and each has their own unique role. It is not Fond du Lac vs. Green Bay, but instead the Fox Cities vs. the Quad Cities vs. Indianapolis. Research shows that regions tend to rise and fall collectively.
We can achieve that by focusing on four things: creating a pervasive culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, providing the tools necessary to hatch new business and expand successful ones, preparing our workforce for the jobs of the next generation, and streamlining and coordinating all existing economic development efforts. By funneling all of our energy into these initiatives, we can empower our community to prosper.
[ * ] Denotes Year 1 Action Item
LIFE FDL County proudly supports and advances the Envision Initiative