Are entrepreneurial type individuals staying here? (Pittsburgh, Carnegie: 2014, health insurance, loans)

[zman63]

Here is another article written by the economic expert from Carnegie Mellon University. The city needs more entrepreneurial type people if it is going to grow.


Regional Insights: Pittsburgh region is one of the least entrepreneurial places - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by zman63

Here is another article written by the economic expert from Carnegie Mellon University. The city needs more entrepreneurial type people if it is going to grow.


Regional Insights: Pittsburgh region is one of the least entrepreneurial places - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Do you have any ideas on how to encourage entrepreneurship, zman?


How about getting rid of some of the red tape businesspeople face? How long did it take Bottom Dollar to get underway for their store on Penn Ave? If BD were a private firm owned by a local individual without the deep pockets of Food Lion, would they have even been able to make it through the red tape process?

[zman63]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Do you have any ideas on how to encourage entrepreneurship, zman?


How about getting rid of some of the red tape businesspeople face? How long did it take Bottom Dollar to get underway for their store on Penn Ave? If BD were a private firm owned by a local individual without the deep pockets of Food Lion, would they have even been able to make it through the red tape process?

I have said time and time again. Do away with all of these small governing bodies and school districts into one. Set one tax rate so money is equal. Then you have the entire county/city planning as one. Make target areas for development in the county. Redevelop the inner city neighborhoods and the dilapidated inner ring of suburbs. Stop the development on undeveloped land. End the segregation of school districts and municipalities.

I like the approach detroit is doing. Rebuild the city from downtown outward. There is no reason to develop undeveloped land when you have some inner ring suburbs with the roads and utilities already in place. Wreck the bad houses and buildings. Encourage people to move closer to the city / downtown.

Get more venture capital to encourage business growth.

[I_Like_Spam]

The larger governmental bodies are the ones with the most redtape, zman.

Consider Bottom Dollar- look at the hassle they had in Pittsburgh- while their stores in Scott and Ross got approved in a hurry.

I wish Detroit nothing but the best, but they are hardly anywhere for Pittsburgh to emulate, considering their outrageous unemployment rate and vast desolation. Pittsburgh doesn't have nearly the open spaces near the center of the city to develop like Detroit does.

[szug-bot]

well, what exactly WAS the problem with Bottom Dollar? does anyone know. come on, we can cite an example, but maybe its delay or whatever was for a good reason.

i can think of one, and it may not be true, but im just hypothesizing - that is an street with a lot of history. its seen better days. did the excavator find gasoline tanks? old utilities? gas lines...? that could be.

also - i think people are a little hard on Pittsburgh - there is 'red tape' because its a city, ok? people are generally in close proximity. without oversight and carefulness and contracts that protect all parties, you will have the chaos we see in mega cities of third world countries.

im not suggesting there isnt room for improvement in the permitting process.

as far as Detroit - theyve bottomed out. i dont think they are doing anything specific. its just that the current economy is filling the voids left by their downslide. demand and investment is not necessarily growing.
im not an expert on detroit, though.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

well, what exactly WAS the problem with Bottom Dollar? does anyone know. come on, we can cite an example, but maybe its delay or whatever was for a good reason.

i can think of one, and it may not be true, but im just hypothesizing - that is an street with a lot of history. its seen better days. did the excavator find gasoline tanks? old utilities? gas lines...? that could be.
.

Some of the neighbors didn't care for the truck and car traffic the store is anticipated to create, nor the appearance of the store.

Actually, the history of the site is that it was the location for the old Garfield Giant Eagle- so the new occupant of the site really fits in well with history.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Some of the neighbors didn't care for the truck and car traffic the store is anticipated to create, nor the appearance of the store.

Actually, the history of the site is that it was the location for the old Garfield Giant Eagle- so the new occupant of the site really fits in well with history.

a Giant Eagle in Garfield...wow, can you imagine? i didnt know there was one there. Garfield is my #2 for possibly buying a house in the next few years.

on google maps, look at the backyard of the house at North Pacific/Penn Avenue. thats an old image, too - they made it so nice, probably for little money, but it looks even better than in that image. i know - the size of house and yard is abominable to some people - its ok, though, i just dont imagine myself in a humongous property. (but that could change.)

[selltheburgh]

The architecture, parking, trucks etc were all an issue with neighbors. Something big like that isn't what is call a small business or an entrepreneur. This is a Multi million dollar project.

I'd say that the risk of not having health insurance keeps many from quitting their day job to do something new on their own. That's a national issue.

Lack of small business funds are also an issue. Crowd sourcing and revised sec laws may change that.

[zman63]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

The larger governmental bodies are the ones with the most redtape, zman.

Consider Bottom Dollar- look at the hassle they had in Pittsburgh- while their stores in Scott and Ross got approved in a hurry.

I wish Detroit nothing but the best, but they are hardly anywhere for Pittsburgh to emulate, considering their outrageous unemployment rate and vast desolation. Pittsburgh doesn't have nearly the open spaces near the center of the city to develop like Detroit does.

The larger city / county govts do not seem to hurt growth in las vegas, charlotte, miami and now philadelphia. The smaller redundant governments have more red tape. You will get 130 different answers in allegheny county.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by selltheburgh

The architecture, parking, trucks etc were all an issue with neighbors. Something big like that isn't what is call a small business or an entrepreneur. This is a Multi million dollar project.

I'd say that the risk of not having health insurance keeps many from quitting their day job to do something new on their own. That's a national issue.

Lack of small business funds are also an issue. Crowd sourcing and revised sec laws may change that.

Some grocery stores are small businesses, even though the future Garfield BD isn't. Many Shop n Saves, Foodlands and some Giant Eagles are owned by entrepreneurs, not major corporations. If a small fry private owner had proposed a Garfield market, the process could have finished the project off a long time ago. Major corporations like Food Lion are in a much better position to go through the daunting, eternal approval process to get a business opened in this town. Entrepreneurs are at a distinct disadvantage.


I don't think revising security laws will make banks more amenable to loaning money to highly risky startup businesses. In fact, I'd think that revising the laws will make publicly owned banks to demand better collateral and co-signers to guarantee the loans and reduce the chance of a loss.