ST. GEORGE BUSINESS SUMMIT
Washington County Is the Place to Watch By Don Willie, President and CEO of the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce
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he 2021 RISE St. George Business Summit, presented by Intergalactic and RAM Company, was unlike anything we’ve seen in Washington County—a star-studded lineup filled with worldclass entrepreneurs, thought leaders, brand experts, sales coaches, executives, and more. If you missed out on this annual summit, attended by over 500 business leaders from the St. George Area and across Utah, you’re going to want to spend the next couple of pages with me as I share some highlights and key takeaways from the day. Washington County is rapidly growing, but the data paints an even more exciting picture than we realized. We kicked off RISE 2021 with “Utah’s top economist,” Natalie Gochnour, who is widely respected across the state as THE go-to source for economic data and analysis. Washington County is the place to watch in Utah. We’re growing at an explosive rate (two times the state growth rate). We’re experiencing full employment (2.6 percent unemployment in Washington County versus 2.7 percent in the state of Utah and 5.9 percent nationally). Migration into Washington County isn’t slowing down anytime soon (30.5 percent growth over the last decade, the second fastest growing county in Utah). While our economy is strong, businesses can’t find workers, and we’re faced with a scarcity of natural resources that could constrain our future growth. Gochnour pointed out five touchstones to consider as we look to the future: 1. Growth is our constant companion. 2. Change requires a sense of urgency. 3. Opportunity continues to knock. 4. Understand the sense of loss. 5. A leadership imperative calls for a clear, compelling, and shared vision.
Entrepreneurs Brad Bonham, Carine Clark, and Steve Neeleman shared their entrepreneurial journeys from startup to exit and everywhere in between. Bonham fell into business by being in the right place at the right time and taking a big risk that paid off. After making some pretty significant pivots, he transformed a furniture business into one of Utah’s most successful drop-ship furniture companies. He encouraged entrepreneurs to (1) go with the flow by being willing to pivot smart, (2) prove your concept before rushing to market, and (3) refuse to let size constrain your decisions. 6 Southern Utah Business Magazine :: Winter 2021
Colliers International-Utah is regarded as the largest commercial real estate firm in Utah and is involved in many of the state’s most transformative commercial real estate projects. Brandon Fugal, Chairman of Colliers InternationalUtah, spoke about the boom of commercial real estate in southern Utah with developments like Tech Ridge and Desert Color. The commercial market in Washington County is tight, with a 1.5 percent commercial office vacancy rate and 114,000 square feet under construction. Industrial space is even tighter, with less than 1 percent vacancy of the nearly 11,000,000 square feet of existing or in progress space in Washington County. Fugal took the final few moments of his presentation to share what is happening at his most extraterrestrial piece of property, Skinwalker Ranch in Uintah County.
