In the Words of the CEO’s

As the CEO of a technology company, I have worked with many consultants and advisory organizations over the years. The National Center for Economic Gardening stands out for the quality, depth, and practical value of the intelligence they deliver. Their team provided us with meaningful, data-driven insights into lead generation, market sizing, search engine optimization (SEO), and the strategic use of LinkedIn as a business development and sales platform. More importantly, their recommendations were tailored to our business and backed by thorough research rather than generic marketing advice. The result was a clearer understanding of our addressable markets, improved customer acquisition strategies, and actionable recommendations that we can immediately incorporate into our growth plans. What impressed me most was the caliber of the research and the professionalism of the experts involved. The information they provided would have required a significant investment of time and money to develop independently. I strongly encourage fellow small business CEOs to take advantage of this program. Too often, growing companies lack the resources to access high-quality market intelligence that larger organizations take for granted. Economic Gardening bridges that gap by providing strategic insights that help business leaders make better-informed decisions, identify new opportunities, and compete more effectively. If your goal is sustainable growth based on facts rather than assumptions, this is a service well worth embracing.

It was a flyer for me. I had no idea how useful it would be. I wanted to get smarter about what we were doing. I was skeptical at the beginning. It felt wonky, but then I watched the videos and it got me thinking differently about the business. I saw that smart people were accessing resources that are difficult for me to access and providing great information. As things posted I realized how helpful and meaningful the information was. I enjoyed the process and it gave us good information that has gotten us thinking in new ways.

The digital information provided has changed the way we market. We are going to do less tradeshows and will be utilizing social media and other digital networks for marketing. We are changing the way we are messaging and communicating. We have email addresses of prospects we can directly market to. We would not have been able to make these changes without the insight we learned in the program.

You have an outstanding, solid, organized approach to doing this work. It was tremendously insightful and helpful. I am very excited about this information which has given us an idea of action steps we can take to grow our business.

We’re very impressed with the program. It is extremely comprehensive in its approach. Market research opened our eyes to a classification system for higher education that we weren’t aware of prior to entering the program. They also pointed us to some existing research reports that have been extremely valuable for us. We are averaging between 200 – 300 PPC contacts per month, and our daily website traffic has increased significantly Year-over-Year. We are getting more face-to-face meetings with the right people – the decision makers. We definitely will recommend this program to other businesses.

The Economic Gardening (EG) process provided us with a massive amount of data that was tailored to our business. The leads that were produced were highly targeted and appropriate for us to explore. The process even opened our eyes to an additional market that fit with our business model, and we have made sales to companies in this sector. EG was well worth the time investment.

My experience with Economic Gardening was one of the most beneficial endeavors this year! It truly opened my eyes to the dynamics in the marketplaces we were interested in and helped me understand market triggers that will help in business development. The angles and approaches that were taken by the team was phenomenal. It let me take a step back and think strategically about how to engage and go after new clients.
Economic Gardening Media
The National Center for Economic Gardening has earned national and international recognition for pioneering the economic gardening approach to entrepreneurship-led economic development. Below you’ll find media coverage, podcast appearances, CEO testimonials, and awards that reflect three decades of proven results.
Awards, Recognition, Achievements
International Economic Development Council
National League of Cities
U.S. Economic Development Administration
SBA Report to the President
( Chapter 6: Economic Gardening)
fDi Intelligence / Financial Times of London
University of Minnesota
Harvard Innovation in Government Awards (finalist)
Invited seven times to present at Harvard University
Presented at North/Central/South America’s Competitiveness Conference
Presented at European Innovation Council Conference
Hosted six delegations from Japan
Invited to speak in 7 foreign countries
Radio interview with National Public Radio (NPR)
Radio interview with ABC Australia
Over 3,000 media stories including articles in Governing magazine,
BusinessWeek, Nation’s Weekly, Business Expansion Journal,
Stanford Social Innovations Review, ICMA and Forbes Japan
Inquiries from over 800 communities
Over 8,000+ social media followers
Over 100,000 hits in Google
Podcasts
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Resources
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Articles About EG
Economic Gardening featured: ‘Business Retention & Expansion: Put Down the Harpoon’
We preserved pillars like Larry Lombardi’s 2020 article to bridge historical experience with future innovation. Put Down the Harpoon (2020) Larry Lombardi’s “Put Down the Harpoon” uses Captain…
Influencers of Economic Gardening
We are often asked about who influenced Economic Gardening: The early beginnings of Economic Gardening included principles developed by Paul Romer, eventual winner of the Nobel Prize for economics…
News
Economic Gardening 2.0 pilot program – Press Release from City of Sacramento
MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT:Jennifer Singer, 916-995-4385, jsinger@cityofsacramento.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE City of Sacramento selects seven companies to receive funds and expert support to grow…
Cabarrus EDC launches Economic Gardening pilot program
The Cabarrus EDC located in North Carolina is awarding five local, second-stage companies with grants to participate in Grow Cabarrus — a pilot program launching in partnership with the National…
Sacramento’s Economic Gardening program featured Fox40 TV
Sacramento’s Fox40 TV had a nice interview on the City of Sacramento and Metro Chamber’s new Economic Gardening program. Watch the interview here.