Nearly 40 people gathered for the launch of our first Business Pitch In at Cut Bank Creek Brewery. Kim Stolz, co-owner of the Cut Bank Creek Brewery, summed up the event -- “It felt good to be in a room with all this energy.” Seven entrepreneurs gave informal five-minute pitches about their business or idea. The crowd then asked questions and offered up suggestions or advice to the presenter. If you would like to partner with us to hold a Business Pitch In event, contact Lyndsay at [email protected] or 1-406-590-1539. Above, Luke Fecteau of Deep Tree IT support services gives his pitch. Thank you to all the partners who helped make the evening a great success!
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Here is our Top 10 for last three weeks celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen the Great Falls regional economy -- Montana's Golden Triangle. And, sharing business resources and skill-building opportunities to empower your success. Sorry to fall so far behind. Hectic, but great days!
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1) TDS Telecommunications announced it will construct an all-fiber broadband network throughout the City of Great Falls. The system will offer speeds up to 2Gig. The company made its announcement the morning after the City Commission unanimously approved a franchise agreement; see KRTV.
2) We hosted visits by a major housing developer and started the next phase of due diligence for a major manufacturer. This week were hosting a regional transloading company. Transloading is a need in our service area to provide diverse shipping options for our local businesses. The company will meet with businesses that have a need to load and unload goods and material brought in by rail. If your business would benefit from a transload facility in Great Falls, please contact Jake Clark at [email protected]
4) The Great Falls City Commission unanimously approved the Calumet Montana Renewables Project tax abatement. This tool is a great way to aid companies in successful capital investments in our community. Margins are tough and new projects need time to get established. The City or County still gets taxes but the increase is staggered over a period of time, in this case ten years, allowing the company time to grow and stabilize. We are excited and thankful Calumet decided to invest here!
5) Great Falls city taxpayers have benefited from an increase in city mill levy due to newly taxable property of $8,750,727 since 2002, much higher than the city mill levy increase due to the inflationary factor totaling $2,172,608.
6) Wayfinding signs are being installed throughout Great Falls, implementing the Great Falls Wayfinding Plan; see KRTV and TheElectric.
8) Labor data for March showed that the Great Falls MSA has added 443 jobs compared to pre-pandemic March 2019 and that our labor force has grew by 353 people in the first quarter of this year. The local labor market continues to be very tight with a March unemployment rate of 2.8%.
9) Congratulations to Lewistown native Josie Stokken who recently moved back to Lewistown and opened Restorative Physio a physical therapy practice. Benefis Teton Medical Center in Choteau recently made large investments with upgrades to computer, x-ray and lab equipment. Read the Choteau Acantah for full story.
10) GFDA is hosting a regional transloading company visiting Great Falls May 16-19. Transloading is a need in our service area to provide diverse shipping options for our local businesses. The company will meet with businesses that have a need to load and unload goods and material brought in by rail. If your business would benefit from a transload facility in Great Falls, please contact Jake Clark at [email protected]
12) We launched our first cohort of our new accelerate course for pre-venture and early stage startups, Accelerate Your Startup. Six entrepreneurs are participating in this first cohort. One participant shared after the completion of Module 1: “This is a crash course. This is a really cool way for everyone to set their own goals at their own pace.” Another participant said: “I have read 100 books on business. A book can’t deliver this.” A third participant left the class with: “My first word at the start of today was ‘anxious.’ Now I feel excited.” For more information on Accelerate Your Startup, click here.
13) The average annual wage in the Great Falls MSA increased 3.2% to $46,437 in 2021, according to data released in the JobsEQ system. The average annual wage increased $1,430. Since 2013Q4, the average annual wage has increased every quarter except for one. Total wages increased by $103 million in 2021, adding to local wage earner spending power.
14) Jason Nitschke was awarded the national Boots to Business Instructor of the Year from the U.S. Small Business Administration! Join us for celebratory ceremony tomorrow, March 18, at Electric City Coffee at 4 PM. See KRTV.
15) The GFDA team visited Job Service Great Falls to learn about the many programs they offer job seekers and employers. If you are a job seeker Job Service Great Falls offers technical assistance, career coaching, veteran services and more. If you are an employer Job Service Great Falls can help with recruitment, retention, and workforce training. Visit Job Service Great Falls to learn more.
16) More new businesses in Downtown Great Falls! Homtana had their grand opening at 112 1st Ave South; see KRTV. Omerta Cigar Lounge has opened on Central Avenue above Pizazz; see TheElectric. Columbia Grain is renovating the former Fair Claim building at 120 1st Avenue North for its offices; see TheElectric. Downtown partners met to brainstorm creation of a child care coop to support employees working downtown; see KRTV and TheElectric.
17) Several projects in Downtown Great Falls are making great progress. The Lofts at the Station broke ground, a tower crane was erected for the Rocky Mountain building and the Alluvion project, and the Gibson Hotel continued the interior demo. With projects such as these, we have tools to help. Some of these tools are Brownfield clean up and Gap financing. If you interested in doing a project or opening a business in Downtown Great Falls, call Christian at 406.836.0136 or email [email protected] and let's discuss the tools and resources we can help you access.
18) $580,000 of grant funding has been awarded by the Montana Department of Commerce to 22 Montana businesses for skill based training of new and existing employees through American Rescue Plan Act Workforce Training Grant. Two regional companies were awarded funds: Pasta Montana and Bear Paw Meats. Congratulations! If you are looking for more resources for your business call Justin at 406.590.1301.
19) Jake and Jolene are gearing up for ICSC Las Vegas 2022 (formerly RECON), a gathering of dealmakers and industry experts, who are driving innovation and evolution in the Marketplaces Industry. We are expanding our target list of businesses to approach for attraction to the Great Falls area. If you know of any national or regional brands you think would be successful in our market, please reach out to Jake Clark [email protected].
20) More options coming to the Foodie capital of Montana, Great Falls. Mountain Berry Bowls, a new food truck, held their grand opening last month. And, as reported by TheElectric: Lyndsay Gutierrez of Nourish and Cassie Campbell of Spices N Spurs hosted a food truck boot camp workshop earlier this year and out of that, six new food truck operations are coming to Great Falls this summer, including Nosh, a catering and food truck operation. Okii Eats is a Korean-Native fusion. Momma Belles is southern style food.
22) We have recently increased our capacity to create traditional business plans by investing in five additional seats of our highly productive and popular platform, LivePlan. LivePlan is free to use for our clients, if you’d like to see LivePlan in action, call or email Rich at 406-836-2078 or [email protected] to setup a demo.
23) The Environmental Protection Agency awarded GFDA $2.65 million in additional brownfield cleanup loan capital that will enable us to help finance more redevelopment projects throughout Cascade County. EPA also awarded $3.9 million to Snowy Mountain Development Corporation for the Lewistown area, $2.15 million to Bear Paw Development for the Havre area, and $500,000 to Fort Belknap. Great news for the Golden Triangle region! See KRTV.
24) Smoot Honey, in Power, MT recently began its 58th year in business and started the middle of April putting out over 5500 hives covering over 5,000 square miles in production area for the honey season. Smoot Honey is a family owned business that specializes in producing quality honey and packaging it for retail sale. To learn more about Smoot Honey or to purchase quality Made in Montana honey visit www.smoothoney.com
25) On Friday, May 20th, Jake will represent GFDA and our talent attraction efforts at the ADF International hiring event. If your business could use some support in attracting the best talent for an open position worth moving to Great Falls for, check out the Great Falls Livability page and reach out to Jake Clark [email protected] or Lyndsay Bruno [email protected]
27) GFDA is now listed as a Community Reinvestment Act aligned nonprofit at FindCRA. This verification makes us stand out to funders as a credible source for loan capital. The CRA, enacted in 1977, requires the Federal Reserve and other federal banking regulators to encourage financial institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they do business, including low- and moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods.
28) Join us June 1st at The Newberry in Great Falls as we celebrate the accomplishments of our community partners, clients, and investors at the GFDA Annual Meeting. Register here.
29) We're excited that Tony Peres has joined the GFDA staff team as our first Small Business Navigator. Tony will be working to strengthen the region's "entrepreneurial ecosystem" -- all of you in the Golden Triangle who existing and would be entrepreneurs turn to for help -- so we can work together to support more business start-ups, business successes, and business expansions. Welcome Tony at [email protected] or 1-406-750-2099.
30) GFDA has a long history of support from our investors and public partners. Because of them, we can keep working toward growing the region and bringing in higher wage opportunities. Recent investments include: Flagship Division—City Motor Company; Pacesetter Divison—Hinebauch Insurance and Holman Aviation; Community Division—Edward Jones Michael Plummer, Independence Bank, Nelson Architects, Cappis Consulting & Tax, LLC, ERA Advantage Realty, and Loucks & Glassley, PLLP, and Macek Companies; and, Supporter Division—BSPARK Architecture. They are the true champions of the community! Together, we are continuously working to Grow Great Falls! If you want to join the team that is growing Great Falls, contact Investment Director Jenn Gallmeier at 406-781-9499 or [email protected].
Have a great week!
Brett
Brett Doney
President & CEO
Connect with me on LinkedIn to network with the Great Falls Montana region. Forward the GFDA Top 10 to friends and colleagues. You can join our distribution list HERE or text GFDA to 22828.
"I know you've heard it a thousand times before. But it's true - hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice, practice. If you don't love something, then don't do it."
Ray Bradbury
Edition 532
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Cost-Effective Rail-Served Industrial Sites Available
If your company needs a rail-served, BNSF-Certified, shovel-ready site with all municipal services at your door, we have lots available for immediate construction in the Great Falls AgriTech Park. Contact Jolene Schalper at 1.406.750.4481 or [email protected]
May SBA 504 Loan Rates
The 25-year loan effective rate (including all fees) came in at 5.117%; 20-year at 5.057%; 10-year equipment loan at 4.922%; and, 20-year refinance 5.071%; 25-year refinance 5.130%. These rates are FIXED for the life of the loan and are inclusive of all fees. If you would like to find out how to get financing for commercial real estate and equipment at potentially lower rates than you're paying for your home mortgage, please contact Jill Kohles at 406-590-1056 or [email protected].
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Events, Business Training, and Opportunities
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Save the dates for four new trainings we’ve recently added to our Business Education Calendar this summer. We’ll be hosting our cash flow and profitability course Profit Mastery on July 8th and July 15th . We’re also launching a new training to inspire and educate entrepreneurs about becoming a franchise owner. Becoming a Franchisee: An Alternate Path to Business Ownership will be hosted in-person July 29 and via a two-part webinar August 11 and August 18.
Great Falls College MSU is working with partners to create a CDL Truck Driving program in Great Falls. They need full-time and part-time instructors -- download job description -- and employers to support this important workforce development effort with funds, equipment, and commitments to recruit participants and hire successful graduates. Contact Tammie Hickey at 406-771-5104 or [email protected].
The transition is complete! The D-U-N-S number has gone away, and the SAM.gov-generated Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) isnow the authoritative identifier for all U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and Integrated Award Environment (IAE) systems. If you are registered in SAM.gov (active or not), you have already been assigned a UEI (SAM). To register your business in SAM.gov for the first time, get a UEI (SAM), or to find out more information about how this transition affects you, contact your Great Falls PTAC and connect with Shannon at [email protected]
Montana STEP grants can pay for 75% of your international export marketing efforts up to $10,000. The Montana TechLink Center at MSU is offering a new round of workshops on how to win Small Business Innovation Research funding.
What’s it like to live in Great Falls Montana? Get a glimpse through the new Great Falls 2022 Livability Magazine! Livability Great Falls is a tool for recruiting people from outside our community and is one of the tools for our Talent Attraction campaign. We also have a Email List to share resumes of trailing partners and others and we promote Hot Jobs – jobs that would entice people to move here. If you are recruiting people from outside Great Falls, click here to join our recruiter email list and learn more.
Join us for the June Strategic Teaming Alliance Roundtable (STAR) hosted by PTAC in alliance with Northrop Grumman Corporation on June 16 at 8:00 AM MST. This is the second event in a series of STAR roundtables designed to assist businesses with navigating and benefiting from doing business with the federal government and large federal contractors (often referred to as Primes). Connect with panelists from businesses that are currently successfully performing as prime and subcontractors. Learn helpful tips to assist you in achieving your government contracting goals. REGISTER!
USDA launched a Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) to help compensate producers with their livestock losses incurred by adverse weather or attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the Federal Government. LIP payments are equal to 75% the average fair market value of the livestock. For more information visit the USDA website here.
We have migrated our pre-business workshop for early stage and pre-venture startups to a self-paced, video-facilitated, online format. Business Basics for Startups is now live and ready for beta testing. If you’d like to check out the content and provide feedback, we’d appreciate it. Click here to check out the new modules and resources. Please direct feedback to Rich at [email protected].
Montana Rapid Retraining funds are available to help more people enroll in workforce training programs and expand industry-driven accelerated workforce training courses. The Great Falls Job Service can assist with Rapid Retaining Efforts. Contact Beth Schmidt at 406-791-5869 or [email protected]. For business strategy/planning help to take advantage of this one-time opportunity, contact our Small Business Development Center (SBDC) regional director, Jason Nitschke at [email protected]
What if you could step back for a couple hours a month, discuss issues with similar size companies and work on your business growth? We invite CEOs to join PeerSpectives, a CEO roundtable system with structured, facilitate protocols. When companies reach the second stage (typically 10+ employees, $1m + in revenue) they have unique challenges and this model is designed to maximize your opportunities. Call Jason Nitschke to discuss, 750.0314. Participation is limited by size and industry. Learn more about this proven system here.
Attention Veteran-Owned Businesses! In less than a year the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) will transfer to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). As of January 1, 2023, all functions of VA’s CVE will be handled by the SBA. To help make this a seamless transition, we encourage all self-certified SDVOSBs to complete the verification process through the VA now before the transfer becomes effective. Please start the verification process at https://vetbiz.va.gov/vip/. For more information on starting the verification process, contact Lillian Sunwall at [email protected].
The best resource we scan daily to stay abreast of business and community innovation is MATR.net (Montana Associated Technology Roundtables) which we are proud to help sponsor. Sign up for their free newsletter.
The Montana Department of Commerce launched an investment matchmaking website for Montana business projects. The Opportunity Exchange’s - Montana Investment Portal is a website where investors can easily view and connect to projects in the state. Click here to view listed projects. Click here to get your investment project listed on the portal. For help posting your project or property on the Montana Investment Portal, contact Kristian Richardson at 406-841-2032 or [email protected].
Join the Trailing Partner Email Group specifically for employers to share resumes of trailing spouses/partners across the Great Falls region with other employers looking to hire. “Your (Live in Great Falls) website is very impressive and helpful! Great Falls looks amazing, and we love what we've seen real estate-wise, and business-wise.” This quote was from an email sent to us from a couple considering relocation to Great Falls. We will be sharing their resumes (with their permission) on the Trailing Partner Email Group.
Looking to take control of your business’s financials, increase profit, and improve your bottom line? We have had interest from businesses in scheduling a Profit Mastery course. These courses are scheduled by demand. If you are interested in taking this two-day workshop, contact Jason Nitschke at [email protected] or call (406) 750-0314.
Visit our relocation website LiveInGreatFalls.com. This website was the #1 request we got from local recruiters and HR professionals for aiding in attracting talented workers to Great Falls. The Great Falls At-A-Glance two-pager is a great complementary resource that highlights Great Falls for people unfamiliar with our community.
We have Brownfield Clean-Up money that we want to put to work! Our low interest Brownfield Loans can be used to clean up hazardous materials including but not limited to lead paint, asbestos, etc. Are you working on a project that could use some clean up? Call Lillian today to discuss eligibility 406.750.1253 or [email protected].
Of our online business planning tool, LivePlan, one said: "LivePlan is Awesome!" The LivePlan tool is helping her streamline her strategy in preparation for presenting to bank partners. We offer LivePlan licenses for free to active clients. Learn more about LivePlan on our website.
All of our recorded monthly business strategy webinars are available online for viewing anytime, click them out here.
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Our Mission
Grow diverse economic opportunities that enhance quality of life.
GFDA is a certified Community Development Financial Institution and a 501(c)3 charitable organization. High Plains Financial is a certified Community Development Corporation that offers SBA 504 loans statewide. GFDA and High Plains Financial are Equal Opportunity Employers and Lenders.
GFDA is proud to host a Montana Small Business Development Center, a Montana Procurement Technical Assistance Center, and a Montana Food & Ag Development Center. We are also proud to provide office space for MSU's Montana Manufacturing Extension Center and an SBA Women's Business Center in partnership with the University of Montana and the Montana Native Growth Fund.
GFDA was the first economic development organization in the Rocky Mountain West to earn accreditation from the International Economic Development Council.
For more info, click to our website.
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