What Makes a Community's Economy Thrive? A Student's Guide to the Regional Economic Ecosystem

 

1. Introduction: It's Like a Natural Ecosystem, But for Business!

 

Have you ever thought about how a forest or a coral reef works? Each part—the plants, animals, water, and sunlight—depends on the others to create a healthy, thriving environment. A regional economy works in a very similar way! Instead of plants and animals, you have different businesses, talented people, and community organizations all working together. When these parts are connected and support each other, they create a healthy economy for the entire region.

 

The purpose of this pamphlet is to introduce you to this big idea, called a regional economic ecosystem. We'll explore the key ingredients that make an economy strong, using the Grand Traverse region in Northern Michigan as a real-world example of a community working to build a vibrant and resilient economic ecosystem.

 

2. The Three Core Ingredients for a Thriving Economy

 

Just like a good recipe, a strong economic ecosystem is built on a few essential ingredients. By focusing on these core areas, a community can create an environment where businesses and people can succeed for the long term.

 

2.1 Ingredient #1: Industry Clusters (Businesses Helping Each other Grow)

 

An "industry cluster" is a group of related businesses that spring up in one area. Think of them as neighborhoods of similar companies. They help each other grow by sharing specialized knowledge, attracting skilled workers, and using common resources. The Grand Traverse region is focusing on developing several key clusters:

• BlueTech: This cluster is focused on making Northern Michigan a leader in freshwater innovation, research, and technology related to our most valuable natural resource: water.
• Advanced Air Mobility (Drones): The region is becoming a national hub for developing and testing commercial drones for important jobs like emergency response and medical supply delivery.
• Future Mobility & Outdoor Recreation: This exciting area brings together innovation in clean-energy transportation—like electric boats and motorcycles—with the region's world-class outdoor lifestyle.

 

2.2 Ingredient #2: Talented People (The Most Important Resource)

 

A business is only as good as its people. That’s why attracting and keeping talented, creative, and skilled individuals is critical for any economy to succeed.

 

According to the local "Business Growth Barometer Survey," finding talented staff is the single biggest challenge for businesses in the region, with 40% of companies citing it as their primary barrier to growth.

 

To solve this, the community created programs like "Northern Explorers," which invites professionals from across the country to visit the area. It gives them a chance to see firsthand the career

opportunities and amazing quality of life the region offers. The powerful draw of the community is often what convinces people to make the move. As "area boomerang" Lydia Craig Aulisi, who grew up in the region before moving away, explained:

 

“There’s nowhere else in the world where I felt as much peace as when I was here, and I forgot that,” Aulisi said.

 

This shows that a great place to live is just as important as a great place to work.

 

2.3 Ingredient #3: Teamwork (Public-Private Partnerships)

 

The final ingredient is the teamwork that connects everything. This happens through public-private partnerships, which are collaborations between government groups (like cities), non-profits (like the economic development organization Traverse Connect), and private companies. By working together towards a common goal, they can achieve much more than they could alone.

This collaborative approach is critical to building the ecosystem and involves key public partners such as:

• City of Traverse City
• Charter Township of Garfield
• East Bay Township

Now that we understand the ingredients, let's see how they are being mixed together in the real world.

 

3. Case Study: How the Grand Traverse Region is Building its Ecosystem. Here is a closer look at how the Grand Traverse region is putting these ideas into action and tracking its progress.

 

3.1 Measuring Success: The Regional Dashboard

To make sure their strategies are working, organizations like Traverse Connect use data to measure progress toward making the region a better place to live and work. They set ambitious goals for the future and track key metrics.

Metric	2030 Goal
Bachelor's Degree or Post-Secondary Certificate	60%
Growth of Prime Working Age Population (35-49)	5%
State Average Wage Percentage	90%

 

This data is paired with direct feedback from the business community. According to the Q3 2025 survey, local businesses feel very positive about the region's direction:

 

• 96% agree the region is a good place to grow a business.
• 93% agree the region is improving as a place to grow a business.

 

3.2 Innovation in Action: Spotlighting Cool Projects

 

Here are just a couple of examples of how the region's industry clusters are coming to life with exciting, real-world projects:

1. Drones for Search-and-Rescue In a simulated Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) search-and-rescue operation on East Grand Traverse Bay, a high-tech drone was launched to find a boat in distress, showcasing how drones can perform complex jobs even when flying far beyond the pilot's direct line of sight. The drone successfully located the boat and relayed its exact position to the U.S. Coast Guard, proving how this technology can save lives.
2. The Future of Boating At a recent event called ReShore, people had the chance to experience the future of water recreation. They could ride electric jetskis, cruise on solar-powered boats, and see all-electric vessels, demonstrating the region's leadership in clean marine technology.

 

3.3 Supporting New Ideas: The Entrepreneurial Spirit

 

A healthy ecosystem encourages entrepreneurs—the creative and driven people who start new businesses from the ground up.

 

A key regional partner, 20 Fathoms, is a local organization dedicated to supporting these entrepreneurs and tech start-ups. They provide resources, education, and a community for people turning their ideas into reality.

 

One of these entrepreneurs is Susie Grace, the founder of Valor Skincare. She calls herself an "accidental entrepreneur" who started making natural skincare products for herself. She fell in love with the process, shared them with friends and family, and eventually grew her passion into a successful business. Starting a company is an incredibly challenging journey, as she describes:

“It’s kind of like driving in a blizzard, where sometimes it’s a whiteout, and I don’t even know if I’m on the road right now, or I’m trying to stop and I literally can’t.”

 

By providing support from organizations like 20Fathoms, the ecosystem makes that difficult drive a little less bumpy for new founders. These individual stories of success are the ultimate proof that the ecosystem is working.

 

4. Conclusion: Putting It All Together

 

As we've seen, a thriving regional economy doesn't happen by accident, and it isn't about one single company or industry. It’s about intentionally creating a "fertile landscape" where industry clusters, talented people, and collaborative partnerships can all grow together.

 

By focusing on these core ingredients, a community can build a strong foundation for innovation, opportunity, and a high quality of life. This collaborative approach is how communities like the Grand Traverse region build a vibrant and resilient economic ecosystem for the future.