The Real Deal

By Sharman Egan Lagniappe columnist

Mobile is on a roll. Real estate is booming, unemployment is low, sales tax revenues are high and life on Mobile Bay is good.

So why do so many people, including those of us who live and work here, think Mobile is just another sleepy Southern city and that the action is in Atlanta, Birmingham or someplace else? Why do so many young professionals think they have to go elsewhere to make a decent living?

Even the folks at the Mobile Chamber of Commerce seem to see Mobile’s slow-paced image as their number one issue. Just look at the home page on the Chamber’s Web site: “Despite our reputation as a laid-back Southern community, Mobile Bay is on the move.”

But are we really on the move? Or is this just a bunch of marketing hype?

If recent press coverage is any indication, not only is Mobile on the move, but a lot of people are starting to take notice, including some pretty important ones.

On Aug. 23, The Wall Street Journal featured a story about economic development in Mobile in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This wasn’t just another one-year-anniversary-of-Katrina recovery story. The article describes in detail how Mobile has transformed itself from “something of an afterthought” to a city “poised to play a far bigger role on the Gulf Coast.” The article goes on to say, “the boom represents a remarkable turnaround for Mobile.” It’s one thing to see this type of press coverage locally. It’s quite another thing when The Wall Street Journal takes notice.

A few days later, Parade magazine featured the Mobile County School System in its cover story, “Good Schools Can Happen.” The article touted the successful efforts of Mobile business and civic leaders to help improve local schools.

As if this wasn’t enough, the September issue of Entrepreneur magazine included its 12th annual Hot Cities report on the most dynamic cities in the nation for entrepreneurs. Mobile was ranked as the top mid-sized city in the U.S. for starting and growing a business.

So is there any real meat behind these stories? Is Mobile’s business environment really as good as reported by Entrepreneur and The Wall Street Journal? And, if so, why the brain drain? Do we even have a brain drain?

A recent study, The University and The Creative Economy 2006*, sheds some light. The authors developed a Brain Drain/Gain Index (BDGI) that measures the extent to which the 331 metropolitan regions in the U.S. attract and retain college-educated talent. The study’s measures are based on what the authors call the 3Ts of economic development: technology, talent and tolerance.

The study finds – not surprisingly – that Atlanta and Birmingham have high BDGI indexes. Atlanta is ranked #1 among cities with populations over 1 million. Birmingham is ranked #5 among cities with populations of 500,000 to 1 million. And, by the way, big does not necessarily mean brainier. The cities ranked #1-3 overall all have population under 500,000.

Perhaps mercifully, the study does not list the highest brain drain cities. But it does include Mobile in a list of five low ranking areas for both university innovation and regional high-tech industry. Combine this with the very high BDGI indexes for Atlanta and Birmingham and you have to conclude the Mobile Brain Drain is real.

Now the good news. The study ranks Mobile #2 in terms of the number of start-ups among cities of similar size. So it looks like the folks at Entrepreneur just might be right.

OK, enough of the press hype and the academic study. What’s the business environment really like here? And more importantly, can young professionals actually make a good living here, even if they’re not doctors or attorneys? Will the brain drain continue?

I set out to try to answer these questions in a non-academic (shall we say more entrepreneurial?) way.

First I checked out the State of Alabama’s directory of technology firms. Only 31 companies were listed in Mobile County and seven in Baldwin County. Hmmm. These are not big numbers.

Next I attended the recent Business and Technology Expo sponsored by the Mobile Chamber of Commerce. Well over 100 companies exhibited at the business-to-business trade show and the aisles were full of attendees. Most of the exhibitors were service firms – printing companies, caterers (never knew I could have a nice dinner walking the aisles of a trade show), real estate companies, etc. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

But I was looking for high-tech, fast-growth companies that would keep young professionals here.

I did find some pretty interesting companies and products: LEGALimaging, digital video for attorneys. PrismSystems, software for the commercial marine industry and other markets. DailyAccess, Web-based services for retirement plans. A&A Screening Solutions, online background screening. 3D Solution Providers, 3D illustration. Enveloc, online computer backup. Chapura, software for handhelds.

I also found signs of the type of support infrastructure needed to help young entrepreneurial companies succeed: the Gulf Coast Technology Council, USA Technology and Research Park, the Women’s Business Center, the Small Business Development Center and the Business Innovation Center.

Over the next several weeks, I’ll visit USA’s tech park and some of the other business centers, and I’ll talk to business people about what’s really going on here. I’ll report back with the findings of my “study.”

• Richard Florida, Gary Gates, Brian Knudsen and Kevin Stolarick. The full study can be found at www.creativeclass.org.

Sharman Egan is Lagniappe lagniappe columnist. Contact her at Sharman@SharmanEgan.com.

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