WILMINGTON’S BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS TOUGH TO DEFINE.

An analogy may help: Think about the differences between high school, college and NFL football teams.

Wilmington is the college team.

Players on a high school team have an intense loyalty to their hometown, but they didn’t pick it. They just grew up there.

NFL players are on teams because of drafts, trades or big contracts. They’ll bask in home team cheers, but they’ll quickly shed one uniform for another when they become free agents.

Players on a college team choose to be there. Their decisions weren’t mainly financial.

When the players arrive on campus, they form an eclectic group from many places that melds because of their shared fate, good fortune and desire to succeed together.

That’s the spirit of Wilmington’s business community.

It’s a different experience being a newcomer in our region than many other places.

“The people are so damn friendly” is how Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo summarizes the reaction he consistently hears from newcomers and visitors.

The reason is likely that today’s local residents were recently the newcomers, and we’re happy to pay forward the assistance we received.

Ask for a show of hands of how many Wilmington natives are in a typical business meeting with 20 attendees. Perhaps three hands will go up. More likely it’ll be two or one.

In many communities, it can be a challenge to break into the “who’s who” crowd. In Wilmington, the opposite is often true.
Show some smarts, interest and effort, and you’ll quickly be recruited to join multiple boards and other community efforts.

The Wilmington Convention Center coined what I consider the most fitting tagline for our region — “Business Made Casual.”
Whenever I’m asked if somebody can wear something casual to an event, my response is always, “Of course, it’s Wilmington.”

For companies, there’s a wealth of local talent. It’s become a cliché locally to say, “Wilmington has the country’s best educated wait staff.”

Many talented people move here for the quality of life and UNCW graduates often don’t want to leave. Where they’ll work is often a second-level decision, which creates a ready workforce for employers.

Our region has a mix of corporate players like Corning, GE-Hitachi and PPD, recent breakout successes like Live Oak Bank and Castle Branch and many budding entrepreneurial ventures.

A lot of the entrepreneurial activity is happening in downtown Wilmington, which is at a transformational tipping point.

Old buildings previously used by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and still stenciled with names like “Diamond Feed Store” have been repurposed.

The modern, 7-year-old Convention Center is the transition point from the historic downtown to the developing northern riverfront with a new marina and concert venue, PPD’s headquarters, apartments and a soon-to-be 6.6-acre park, hotels, restaurants, retail space and offices.

It’s a visible example of how, like our business community, the new melds into what’s already here.

By the way, Wilmington doesn’t have a college football team. But the spirit of one is all around you.

Rob Kaiser is the publisher of Greater Wilmington Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected] or (910) 343-8600 x204.