BEDFORD, Ind. (May 6, 2019) — Radius Indiana is joining the U.S. Small Business Administration in celebrating National Small Business Week, an annual event to recognize the nation’s top small businesses, entrepreneurs, small business advocates and champions, and Radius is actively taking steps with new programs to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs across its eight-county territory.

This year, May 5-11 is National Small Business Week. As part of the celebration, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Every day, they’re working to grow small businesses, create 21st-century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness.

More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. The Radius region is home to nearly 5,000 small business, making up over 90 percent of the work establishments throughout the eight-county area.

Anthony Christian, Director of Data Analysis and Development at Radius, is a certified business advisor for the Indiana Small Business Development Center. He has been holding entrepreneur/help sessions in the Radius region to offer free help and assistance to entrepreneurs and small business owners who are at any stage of a business development project.

“This is a new initiative for Radius and we are excited to partner with ISBDC to connect and offer assistance to small businesses,” said Christian. “No matter where they may be in their process–from finding an attorney to copyrighting something, to getting connected to a CPA for tax help, we can offer that kind of help. These sessions allow us to work directly with the small business owners that are the big contributors to our regional economy.”

Christian worked with local economic development organizations (LEDOs) to expand the work that ISBDC is offering in the Radius region. Together, the groups organized the help sessions to support entrepreneurs. Dubois County was one of the first counties to recognize the value of bringing the service to their own community’s small businesses.

“The Radius partnership with ISBDC is a very valuable asset for the entrepreneurs in Dubois County,” said Ed Cole, President of Dubois Strong. “The service that Anthony is providing is very important and I look forward to what will come from his sessions.”

As part of the new strategic plan that Radius adopted in the fall of 2018, Support for Small Business and Entrepreneurship has become a top focus of the organization. The SWITCH Study, with collaboration from the Southern Indiana Development Commission,  is intended to help establish a network of entrepreneurial centers in this region and allow the sharing of resources throughout the network. Once completed, this study will bring together the public and private sectors by building an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs throughout the region. The study is expected to be completed this fall.

In addition, Radius will be hosting a pitch competition for high school students and adult entrepreneurs in October. The competition is meant to encourage original thinking with a business-plan focus. More details will be available in the coming months.

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

BEDFORD, Ind. (May 3, 2019) — Radius Indiana traveled to Dallas and Chicago last week to meet with site selectors and share the advantages of doing business in the Radius region. This was Radius’s first site selector trip to Dallas in several years and the organization is continuing its outreach program efforts that began in 2016.

Radius Indiana President and CEO Jeff Quyle was joined by a representative from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation in Dallas to help the state agency with its outreach and visited consultants working in logistics, real estate incentives and site location work.

“We are always excited for new opportunities to meet with site selectors,” said Quyle. “Taking these trips outside of the Midwest is important as ever to spread education and awareness about our region, and we get to keep up to date with the trends that site selectors are looking for and make sure our region is following that curve.”

Later in the week, Michael Thissen, Executive Director for Crawford County Economic Development Corporation, represented the Radius Region at the Indiana Power Partnership in Chicago. The event was sponsored by the statewide regional power agencies bringing site selectors together with regional economic development organizations to learn more about site selection trends and gather the latest information on corporate strategies in expansion and location.

The two-day event included 32 attendees, with 17 experts in site selection and business location services, as well as The Indiana Economic Development Corporation and representatives from the German American Chamber of Commerce, The Italian Trade Agency, & The Japanese Exchange Trade Organization (JETRO).

“The event had great impact with a terrific concentration of expertise to build meaningful and honest relationships with those who can help us grow as a region,” said Thissen. “It was helpful for us as economic developers to listen and learn the nuances of site selection and to be better prepared in providing the needed critical information when we answer information requests.”

Radius Indiana will continue its outreach program efforts with more site selector trips in 2019, with sessions scheduled in Cleveland and Atlanta.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.

BEDFORD, Ind. (May 2, 2019) — Radius Indiana is continuing its support of its tourism initiative ‘Discover Southern Indiana’ by joining the State of Indiana and the Indiana Office of Tourism Development in celebrating Visit Indiana Week May 5-11.

Visit Indiana Week is an annual celebration of tourism in the state in conjunction with National Tourism Week.  Each day of the week is meant to celebrate a different aspect of tourism:

• State Parks Sunday: Free admission to the 51 DNR properties throughout the state
• Get Moving Monday: Enjoy the great outdoors, from hiking to yoga outside
• Tasty Tuesday: Treat your taste buds at a locally owned restaurant
• Wayback Wednesday: Visit one of the historic sites Indiana is home to
• Thirsty Thursday: Support the hundreds of wineries and breweries Indiana has to offer
• Family Fun Friday: Get the family involved by spending the day at your favorite Indiana spot
• Sweet Saturday: Celebrate the end of the week with your favorite dessert

Indiana State Parks Deputy Director Ginger Murphy sees this week as a great opportunity to remind Hoosiers that state parks are already open and that great things are going on year-round, not just when summer rolls around.

“Visit Indiana Week helps us connect with the communities near our state parks. Those who visit us also visit and spend money in nearby towns and helps guests know what’s available in those communities,” said Murphy. “Through State Park Sunday, when it is free for everyone to visit us, we give those who may not have been to a state park a chance to go for a hike, picnic, nature center visit, bike ride or other outdoor experience for the first time.”

‘Discover Southern Indiana’ invites you to visit their website to see what each county in the region has to offer during Visit Indiana Week.

“Tourism is such an important part of our local economy and we are honored to get to celebrate it for a week,” said Blaine Parker, Radius’ Director of Tourism and Quality of Place. “Our region has so much to offer and ‘Discover Southern Indiana’ allows us to tell our story of what is here in our backyard that we want other people to come enjoy and experience.”

‘Discover Southern Indiana’ is a region-wide tourism driver and is the first of its kind for the area and gives an identity to the opportunities the Radius region has to offer to its visitors. To learn more about ‘Discover Southern Indiana’, visit www.discoversouthernindiana.com.

In 2018, Indiana welcomed 80 million visitors, a 1.3 percent increase from 2017, according to the IOTD. The tourism industry is responsible for 5 percent of all Indiana jobs and saves Indiana residents an average of $561 in state and local taxes per household.

According to Rockport Analytics, tourism is one of the leading industries in the Radius region, accounting for $290.4 million in tourism spending and providing 3,930 jobs in 2017. With such a level of economic impact on the region, tourism serves as a large economic driver for jobs and quality of place initiatives.

IOTD aims to foster a spirit of partnership among the Office of Tourism Development, local Convention & Visitors Bureaus, attractions, and Indiana communities through innovative programs and effective initiatives that grow the statewide industry, increase economic impact, and create jobs.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.