A Panel Discussion with Business Cluster Experts 

RADIO SHOW
Bottom Line I.T. with Mike Maddox
and Panel: Carol Lauffer, Bob Trezise, Keith Lambert

RECORDED at Michigan Business Network studio for March 3, 2020

To hear Mike and Carol, Bob and Keith discuss business clusters and economic development, click play on the PodCasts shared below:

It’s common for certain states and cities to be known for certain industries. But what characteristics transform a dominant industry into business cluster? And what does a cluster need to thrive and drive economic prosperity?

On this episode of Bottom Line IT, host Mike Maddox of ASK sits down with a panel of business cluster experts including, Bob Trezise and Keith Lambert of Lansing Economic Area Partnership and Carol Lauffer of Business Cluster Development.

You need more than a geographic concentration of businesses of a related industry in order to be considered a “cluster.” You need assets to drive your success.

A business needs access to good resources to grow. But according to our panel, it’s not enough for a firm to be connected with these assets. They also need a unified dialogue with the other firms in their cluster. That way they can shape those assets to fit their unique needs.

Fostering these conversations can be difficult when you’re dealing with industries that have been around for decades and tend to hold their cards close to the chest when standing in a room with their competitors. But it’s a critical piece of the puzzle that yields major payoffs—and we’re seeing those payoffs here in Lansing.

There are so many great things covered inside the episode! Including the unexpected cutting-edge cluster, you never knew existed in Lansing. You can tune into Mike’s full conversation by clicking the PodCast set shared above.

You can learn more about LEAP on their website and connect with Carol on LinkedIn.