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Louisiana Economic Development (LED)- Economic Gardening Initiative

Louisiana Economic Development’s Economic Gardening Initiative provides Louisiana-based small businesses with the information they need to grow and succeed. Through accelerated technical assistance and research, an experienced economic gardening team will provide customized services tailored to your business needs.

About

Louisiana Economic Development’s System for Integrated Growth (SIG) ® program provides Louisiana-based small businesses with the information they need to grow and succeed. Through accelerated technical assistance and customized research, the SIG program addresses issues that impact business growth, whether they are internal problems or outside the walls of your company.  For example, SIG can help you:

  • Get a handle on financial management and understand what your books are telling you.
  • Learn how to recruit, retain and develop talented employees.
  • Explore new markets, create prospect lists for those markets and analyze competitors.
  • Prepare to export – from documentation to identifying global markets and setting up distribution channels.
  • Bring in best practices on supply chain and operations to complement your managers’ working knowledge.
  • Enhance your online efforts and increase visibility to potential customers.

 

In order to qualify for the System for Integrated Growth, a business must meet the criteria described below.

 

  • Principal Place of Business – The company must have maintained its principal place of business in Louisiana for at least the last two years.   
  • Annual Revenue – The company must have annual revenue between $600,000 and $50,000,000.   
  • Employees – The company must employ at least five but not more than 100 employees.   
  • Growth – The company must demonstrate growth in annual revenue and/or jobs in two of the last five years.   
  • External Markets – The company must deliver products or services to customers outside the company’s local market area or demonstrate the capacity to do so.  
  • Target Industries – Retail stores and restaurants are specifically excluded. 
  • Lawful Function – The company must be organized for profit to perform a lawful, commercially useful function.

Services Provided

Business Planning

  • Diversification (Specialty)
  • Demographic and Census Data (Specialty)
  • Identification and Research of Foreign Markets (Specialty)
  • Market Plan Development (Specialty)
  • Market Research (Specialty)
  • Business Model development (Specialty)

Import and Export Assistance

  • Identification/Research of Foreign Markets (Specialty)

Libraries and Research

  • Business Research Resources (Specialty)
  • Demographic/Census Data (Specialty)

Marketing and Sales

  • Competitive Analysis (Specialty)
  • Demographics/Census Data (Specialty)
  • E-Commerce/Internet Marketing (Specialty)
  • Identification/Research of Foreign Markets (Specialty)
  • Market Research (Specialty)

Networking and Associations

  • Demographically Based (Specialty)
  • Geographically Based (Specialty)
  • Home Based (Specialty)
  • Industry Specific (Specialty)
  • International Trade (Specialty)
  • Small Business/General (Specialty)

Training

  • Business Plan Training and Assistance (Specialty)
  • E-Commerce/Internet Marketing (Specialty)
  • Marketing Plan Training (Specialty)
Visit Organization's Website
Contact Information
Christopher Cassagne
Address
617 N. 3rd Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Phone
(225) 342-5882
Website
https://www.opportunitylouisiana.com/small-business/special-programs-for-small-business/economic-gardening-initiative
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