Boomtown USA: The 7-1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns [Paperback]

Jack Schultz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 097189552X | ISBN-13: 978-0971895522 | Publication Date: February 1, 2004

This book examines how small towns best prosper by leveraging their resources and working with local and state officials to break through the "one-company town" mindset to attract industry and new business relocations. In the book, Jack Schultz identifies seven and one-half factors that small towns must employ to attract new business relocations or spur new business start-ups, including a collective vision, local support and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The best book I've seen for identifying the small towns with the greatest opportunities for business, jobs and lifestyle. -- --Harry S. Dent, author, The Roaring 2000s



What causes some communities to boom even as others slowly die? Jack Schultz knows the answers. --Rich Karlgaard, publisher, Forbes Magazine

It's definitely a 21st century book and it shouldn't be missed. -- --Ken Blanchard, co-author, The One-Minute Manager

About the Author

Jack Schultz is CEO of Agracel, Inc., an Industrial Development firm specializing in the agurbanTM market. You can learn more about that term in Jack's book. Since its inception in 1986, Agracel's focus and passion has been to facilitate new jobs in the hi-tech and manufacturing sectors specifically in small town America. Agracel, Inc. has projects in eight states and has developed more than four million square feet of industrial space on long-term leases, several commercial office buildings and manages fourteen industrial, office and commercial parks.

Product Details

• Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: naiop (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097189552X
• ISBN-13: 978-0971895522
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A small town is yours to shape, May 15, 2004

By 

J. Grimaldi (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Boomtown USA: The 7-1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns (Paperback)

This is a useful book on an interesting topic I have not seen discussed elsewhere. Don't buy it for an enthralling read. Instead, buy it if you have an interest in the future of a small town.

Like millions of others, I entertain the notion of buying rural property. One would like to make a choice that would be pleasing for decades to come. This book has substantially raised my probability of attaining a favorable outcome. Before reading it I viewed the future prosperity of small towns as something like a crap shoot--buy and hope. My purchasing decision would have been based primarily on the look and feel of a town. Schultz teaches, however, that the success or failure of small towns is not random, nor is it purely a function of capricious tastes among future potential settlers. Rather, the success of a small town is much like the success of anything else: a function of dynamism, vision, and efforts of its own citizens, particularly its most active and determined citizens.

This is a useful notion for one who would like to speculate in real estate. Even more so, however, Schultz's book is something of a how-to and inspirational guide for those who live in a small community and who would like to brighten its future. Schultz's most inspiring message is that, if you are such a person, you need not wait for fait to run its course. Nor must you await the arrival of a born leader. You yourself can shape the destiny of your small town, and Schultz has useful suggestions for how to do it.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The future is here, October 16, 2004

By 

Charles Grantham (Prescott, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Boomtown USA: The 7-1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns (Paperback)

Subtitled "7 1/2keys to big success in small towns," Schultz's book focuses on just what small and medium-sized towns and cities must do to share in the economic good times.
Schultz coins the term "agurbs" as a label for a new kind of economic development. "Agurbs" are those areas outside the major influence of metropolitan areas that have historically been agricultural in nature. But that is changing, he argues, as more and people seek a good life in these outlying areas. The population is moving and economic development is sure to follow. However, Schultz cautions that not every community will prosper. If they are to compete successfully in this new kind of development market, Schultz suggests that cities must:
1. Adopt a "can do" attitude;
2. Shape their vision;
3. Leverage their resources;
4. Raise up strong leaders;
5. Encourage an entrepreneurial approach;
6. Maintain local control;
7. Build their brand; and
7½. Embrace the teeter-totter factor.
We won't steal Schultz's thunder here; rather, we encourage you to buy the book to find out more about his seven and one-half keys to success. The "teeter-totter" factor is especially interesting.
But there are some really interesting facts in the book. Consider these:
From 1990 to 2000 metro areas produced 10% of the population growth and 9% of jobs in the United States. In contrast, "agurbs" produced 20% of the population growth and a stunning 24% of employment growth! Well, what about high-tech areas like Silicon Valley, Austin, TX, and those other creative-class Mecca's?
Here's the real kicker. High-tech areas (much like metro areas) gave the United States another 10% of population growth but just 12% of employment gains. The Top 100 agurbs (in terms of growth rates) showed a 28% increase in population and 32% of job gains. That means that one in three new jobs in the United States over the last decade came from the top 100 agurb areas.
No wonder we are so hot on those "micropolitan" areas we discussed last month (see this month's feature article, above). There is a very high positive correlation between Schultz's "agurbs" and the Census Bureau micropolitan areas.
Where are these agurb areas? In terms of density per state the highest number of them are found in Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Georgia. Hmm, interesting political implications here. Texas, Minnesota, Missouri, and other mid-western states also rank high on the index.
The implications seem rather obvious for economic development professionals. Look to areas that are characterized by high-quality communities; don't focus on low wage rates and tax incentives.
We are particularly intrigued by Schultz's work because he seems to say that real job creation is occurring exactly where we would predict: in areas that have high quality of life and clean environments, and that tend to be non-urban. Duh! Not only are people moving to these areas (according to the US Census), but they are becoming centers of job creation and, hence, wealth. We think Schultz is definitely on to something here.
What this book does is provide a primer for community leaders in these areas. His message is simple: get with the program or be left behind. When we look at Schultz's seven (and one half) factors we see qualities that separate successful developing areas from those that are not successful. And to loop back to our lead article, it is precisely these factors that make a difference between micropolitan areas that flounder (almost 50% of them) from those that are growing at tremendous rates.
Boomtown is another must-read if you are at all concerned about building social capital in your community. And Jack Schultz's checklist of keys to success may lead community leaders to an honest evaluation about whether they are positioned to succeed in tomorrow's economic reality.
And if I'm a corporate real estate executive or relocation specialist, guess what my first seven (and one half) questions will be about when the Mayor and Chamber of Commerce hosts me for dinner in West By God, Anystate, USA?

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Is Effingham a boomtown though?, July 8, 2008

By 

Kelly J. Johnson (Teutopolis, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Boomtown USA: The 7-1/2 Keys to Big Success in Small Towns (Paperback)

As Jack Schultz is talking about strategies to economically "pump up" small town rural life, is he considering, locally, the current context Effingham is in? For example, the majority of Effingham, IL city residents voted down the recent proposal for a huge sports complex that would cost millions of dollars, yet may not produce revenue in the end that upkeep and building costs add up too. This is smart thinking on their part. Yet the city council is going ahead with plans in purchasing land and ignoring the vote. What is wrong with this picture? I think Mr. Schultz would do well to consider the public's opinion on this possibly catastrophic mistake, along with the rest of Effingham's leaders. The book may be well-thought out, and yes, owning property may be key to this day's financial success (Mr. Schultz can attest to that), but when the rich minority impress their wishes on the middle-class or poor majority, they might instead do well to listen and adhere to the majority's wants. The book, Boomtown, may be fine in theory & principle, but putting that into practice in an actual town is another story, and I'm not sure if Effingham fits that bill. If Effingham is such a progressive town, I would like to see a rise in higher-paying middle-class, union jobs, rather than minimum-wage or slightly higher jobs that center around the service sector, with less security. America needs to focus on factory and technology driven jobs.