Empowering People
& Revitalizing the Community

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Programs & Initiatives - Guiding Principles

 

An organization pursues its mission through the various programs and initiatives that it undertakes. LAEDA's mission of personal empowerment combined with community revitalization is lived out through its Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy and related programs. 
 
Each of the programs that make up this strategy has been crafted with four guiding principles in mind.
 
When developing programs to carryout our economic development strategy, LAEDA starts with four key principles for success. Each program must Empower; be Comprehensive; support Sustainability and be Results Driven.
 
Empowerment
"You can give a man a fish and feed him for a day or you can teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime." - Chinese Proverb
 
Empowerment of individuals and the community is fundamental to LAEDA's approach to economic development. The success of any community comes down to its people. LAEDA builds its programs around arming people with the knowledge and skills needed to undertake the renewal of there lives and the community. Empowering individuals with the means to support themselves and their families through the creation of a business and empowering merchants to lead the revitalization of their commercial district through organizing and advocacy are the manifestation of our empowerment principle.
 
Comprehensive
Knowledge is power. LAEDA's programs reflect the importance of knowledge to overall success. LAEDA's staff of professionals continually works to assemble the latest information and instructional tools needed to keep up with new and ever changing business climate. In addition, great care is given to constructing curriculums and services that meet every aspect of business development; from start-up to maturity to completion. 
 
Sustainability
LAEDA realizes that getting started is half the battle. Our programs are designed to ensure long term success. Although no program can guarantee success, LAEDA sees continuing support, mentoring and technical assistance as ways to improve the likelihood of long-term success. LAEDA has been there for its graduate businesses since the beginning; overcoming obstacles, thinking through expansion and now planning for retirement. 
 
Results Driven
The bottom line is results. LAEDA gears its success by measurable results. How many businesses have been started? How much retail space has been developed? How much has the local economy grown? How many jobs have been created? These are tangible results to measure success. Each program must generate a tangible measurable result and impact to the benefit of its participants and the community at-large.