New program to help Las Vegas business launched

The Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance has officially rolled out a new networking program to connect business owners with economic development officials to improve and expand the economy with new jobs.

Billed as Southern Nevada’s first “business retention and expansion program,” BizConnect aims to grant local businesses access to local, regional and statewide resources to help grow business in the Silver State.

“Our goal is to continually grow our local business community,” said Perry Ursem, the economic alliance’s vice president of business retention and expansion.

The alliance has partnered with several businesses and agencies to launch BizConnect. Among them: the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Nevada State College; the College of Southern Nevada; NV Energy; Southwest Gas Corp.; the Southern Nevada Water Authority; Nevada Industry Excellence; the Nevada Department of Business and Industry; and Workforce Connections.

Since the local economic development agency launched the program, officials have talked with more than 90 businesses throughout the Las Vegas Valley, compiling a list of about 100 issues in common, alliance chief operating officer Jonas Peterson said.

Once connected with business owners, economic development officials learned about local problems firsthand and then worked to solve those problems and improve the local business, Peterson said, adding that it’s important to focus on local businesses as much as businesses hoping to move to Southern Nevada.

Some of those common issues among businesses include: business growth, policy improvements, real estate, permitting, workforce training and financing. There’s no charge for the program’s services.

“This is the shortest path to new job creation and capital investment,” Peterson said, addressing a group of about 30 business leaders and local government officials, who seemed excited about the new program.

In Laughlin, local officials are building a plan to develop about 9,000 acres to lure new businesses, said Terry Yurick, a board member of the Laughlin Economic Development Corp. To Yurick, the new program represents an indispensable resource.

“BizConnect is going to be a big help to us as we going into that process,” Yurick said.

Contact reporter Ed Komenda at ekomenda@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0270. Follow @ejkomenda on Twitter.