Greater
Growth
Business Recruitment
Our economic development team markets the Spokane region to businesses looking to startup, expand, or relocate their business. Business activity means creating more jobs, more people working and more dollars circulating through our community.
GSI’s recruiting targets are identified through a strategy called the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy or CEDS. We work with our community partners to develop and maintain a landing page for companies interested in expanding to Spokane. That site, AdvantageSpokane.com, is a data rich resource providing information on key industries, labor force and the communities in Spokane where a company can locate.
We also actively market the community, spreading the Spokane story.
We attend a number of trade shows and networking events for targeted industries. We also focus on a handful of metros each year for special attention. Ads are targeted to executives in the industries we are looking to talk to. We follow up with phone calls and e-mails to schedule an in-person meeting during a sales mission. We sit down face to face with these executives to have a discussion of why they should look at our region for their next expansion opportunity.
We are also the designated Associate Development Organization or ADO for Spokane County. Through a contract with the Washington State Department of Commerce we also handle all the leads sent to us by the State.
What do we do with all these leads?
We have a group of public agencies, developer, commercial real estate brokers, utilities and business support organizations who we send each lead to. We assist those organizations respond to the sometimes, very in-depth, requests for information. We send a packet to each lead that contains information on a location, workforce, utilities and other factors to influence their location decision.
If we are lucky enough to be considered, we will assist that business through their development process. Bringing new investments and new jobs to Spokane!
Government Contracting
GSI’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center provides assistance to companies looking to do business with the government and teaches you how to get started, how to register, provides guidance on solicitations and bidding, and understanding the requirements and marketing know-how to do business with the government.
Startup Spokane
Startup Spokane is a program of GSI that connects you to the resources you need to launch and grow successful companies. Startup has a number of free programs and events for startups, entrepreneurs or those just thinking about starting a business. Find business mentors to help guide you, receive one-on-one counseling, and take a look at the Mind-2-Market program focused on commercializing viable, scalable ideas.