After months of analysis to understand Wilton’s business owners’ satisfaction with the local business environment, the Economic Development Commission (EDC) is now underway in planning for a variety of initiatives that aim to improve satisfaction and help Wilton’s business community thrive.
Armed with insights from the satisfaction survey conducted last August, the EDC, led by chair Joe Favarolo, appears to be reinventing how it supports local businesses as well as the resident workforce.
Favarolo’s agenda for the Wednesday, May 21 EDC meeting showed his intention to maintain momentum on the action steps that emerged from the survey. Each commissioner is now accountable for leading (or co-leading) one or more specific “workstreams.”
Favarolo himself is leading the strategic planning for the EDC’s social media efforts. Commissioner Alison Smith, who generally is not present for EDC meetings, has been serving as the commission’s social media admin, significantly growing the EDC’s social media presence essentially single-handedly since 2021.
Favarolo underscored the importance of the EDC’s social media activity in supporting virtually all of the new initiatives going forward.
“Our social media platform is a key vehicle for all of this,” he said, emphasizing that a methodical, calendarized approach is needed. Favarolo said his next steps would include consulting Smith for her thoughts on how to best utilize the medium as the expected activity picks up.
Among the new initiatives now underway:
- Wilton business directory: Led by commissioners Lana Giancarli and Andrew Warren, the concept is envisioned as a sort of “Yellow Pages for Wilton.” The “easily accessible, user-friendly” directory would be intended to increase the “visibility” which survey respondents indicated was lacking for brick-and-mortar as well as home-based businesses. Commissioners are still exploring where such a directory would be accessed by users— such as on the Town website or perhaps a revamped EDC website (though it was unclear whether the EDC would have the expertise or the budget to develop and maintain its own website). Other feasibility questions — such as the time required to regularly update the directory — are also being investigated. Work will begin with compiling and categorizing business listings, with a target date of July 23.
- “Guide to Marketing a Business in Wilton”: The new guide, which will be marshaled by commissioners Donna Peterson and Lana Giancarli, would be a companion to and logical extension of the “Guide to Opening or Expanding a Business in Wilton” which is already posted on the Town website. Giancarli noted the next step is to create a document template by July 23, after identifying a wide variety of specific marketing resources, including local media, sponsorship opportunities, Chamber events, Wilton social media, etc.
- Talent/Employment Network: Commissioner Philip FitzGerald said he had begun brainstorming what the EDC could do to develop a local “talent network” — a repository of job listings that would allow both employers and job-seekers to connect. As with the business directory and guide to marketing, FitzGerald highlighted the challenges of determining where the employment network would be hosted, and how its content would be continually updated. “It’s only good if it’s actually kept active and maintained,” FitzGerald noted. “Those are two pretty big tasks to think about.”
- Events and training: Commissioner Tom Shimko discussed registration and attendance numbers from some recent events sponsored by SCORE Fairfield County and held at the Wilton Library, with topics including small business access to capital (May 8), AI for small business (May 14), and entrepreneurship basics (May 21). The EDC has begun co-sponsoring these events as part of its renewed focus on supporting local business growth. Commissioners discussed ways to drive awareness, registration and attendance at these events.
In recent years, the EDC has typically set its priorities at the direction of the first selectman. With the completion of the business owner survey, Favarolo approached First Selectman Toni Boucher to clarify priorities. On Tuesday, May 20, the BOS discussed possibly tasking the EDC with:
- Exploring the concept of “social media in support of marketing the Town”
- Providing input and feedback on a new video which Boucher said she is pursuing for promoting Wilton
- Offering suggestions for the Town’s new website design
Other EDC Updates
Commissioner Donna Peterson updated the EDC on her outreach to Parks and Recreation Department Director Steve Pierce offering the EDC’s support for the upcoming America 250 Celebration.
Peterson also reported on her effort to gather information from an anonymous Facebook post by a Wilton resident which garnered hundreds of responses to an inquiry about desired new businesses in Wilton. Although the viability of the business ideas was a key question, Peterson suggested the information could be useful for future reference, as a supplement to the commission’s surveys and other feedback.
The EDC’s next meeting is Wednesday, June 18.