For decades, economic development in communities like ours has followed a familiar playbook: identify target companies, pitch our incentives, and hope they choose our region for their next facility. While business recruitment remains important, this narrow focus misses a fundamental truth about how vibrant communities actually grow.

The real engine of economic development isn’t a corporate site selection committee—it’s the individual visitor who falls in love with our region.

Maura Gast, a nationally recognized community development expert, has distilled this insight into a simple but powerful cycle: “It all starts with a visit.” Her model shows how sustainable economic growth flows naturally from creating a place where people genuinely want to be. First comes the visit, then people want to live here, then they want to work here, then businesses want to locate here, and finally—you’re back to having created a place people want to visit. It’s a virtuous cycle that begins not with tax incentives or industrial parks, but with experience.

Think about your own life. How many of us moved to a community because we analyzed its economic development strategy? More likely, we came to visit family, attended a university, explored the outdoors, or passed through on a road trip. We experienced the community first. We met friendly people, discovered hidden gems, and could envision ourselves here. The jobs and businesses followed our decision to stay—not the other way around.

This paradigm shift has profound implications for how we think about our role in economic development. Every single one of us becomes an economic developer simply by being a good ambassador for our region. When we speak positively about Bannock and Power counties, when we welcome visitors with genuine warmth, when we support local businesses and cultural amenities—we’re doing economic development work.

Unfortunately, we’ve sometimes fallen into a trap of negativity about our own backyard. We focus on what we lack rather than what we have. We apologize for our communities instead of celebrating them. This mindset doesn’t just make us less happy—it actively undermines our economic future. After all, why would someone want to live, work, or start a business in a place where even the locals seem unhappy?

The truth is, we have tremendous assets to celebrate. Our region offers outdoor recreation that people travel thousands of miles to experience. We have educational institutions that draw students from across the country. We boast a cost of living that allows families to thrive. Our downtowns have character and history. Our communities are places where people still know their neighbors and look out for one another.

When visitors experience these qualities firsthand—when they hike our trails, eat at our restaurants, attend our events, and encounter our authentic hospitality—they begin to imagine themselves as residents. Some will make that leap. And when talented, motivated people choose to live here, employers take notice. Businesses follow talent, and they’re increasingly locating based on where their employees want to live rather than simply where incentives are most generous.

This doesn’t mean traditional economic development efforts aren’t important. Infrastructure, workforce training, business-friendly policies, and strategic recruitment all matter. But they work best when they’re part of a broader strategy centered on place-making and community pride.

So what does this mean practically? It means supporting the amenities that make our region attractive—parks, trails, arts venues, restaurants, and gathering spaces. It means maintaining our downtowns as vibrant destinations rather than allowing them to decay. It means investing in the experiences that give visitors reasons to return and residents reasons to stay.

Most importantly, it means each of us adopting an ambassador mindset. The next time you’re traveling and someone asks where you’re from, how do you respond? Do you apologize or make self-deprecating jokes? Or do you speak with genuine pride about your community? Do you invite them to visit? Do you share what makes our region special?

When a family member brings home a college friend for the weekend, do we showcase our best, or do we focus on what we don’t have? When a new coworker relocates here, do we help them discover all our region offers, or do we commiserate about being “stuck” here?

These small interactions matter more than we realize. They’re the seeds from which economic development grows. Every positive encounter creates the possibility that a visitor becomes a resident, a resident becomes an entrepreneur, and an entrepreneur creates opportunities that attract more visitors. The cycle continues.

Economic development isn’t something that only happens in government offices or corporate boardrooms. It happens every day, in countless small interactions, when we choose to be enthusiastic ambassadors for Bannock and Power counties. It starts with believing in our region’s potential and sharing that belief with others.

After all, it all starts with a visit—and every one of us can make that visit memorable.