In the past few Board of Selectmen meetings, Middleboro’s officials have been discussing their goals for this fiscal year and for the next year. Some of the discussions have been around how to bring more business into the town and increase Middleboro’s profile in the state. All good stuff…

I stumbled across an article on Gigaom.com about “rural sourcing” and it struck me that Middleboro could be quite nicely positioned for this concept. The article states:

“While salaries in Milford, Penn. may not be as low as those in Mumbai, India, some often-overlooked costs associated with outsourcing abroad — such as greater management oversight, cultural miscues and occasional long-distance travel — are lower with rural-sourcing. Plus, many workers enjoy living in these slower-paced places, while bringing employment to struggling towns is sure to generate good will.”

Middleboro, Massachusetts enjoys some advantages that we should be promoting to businesses looking for new, lower-cost, onshore locations. For example:

  • We have Verizon FiOS and Comcast high-speed internet access in town.
  • We have open business park locations and office space available and ready for build out.
  • We are at 13% unemployment which means we have lots of people looking for work.
  • We are ideally located near Boston, Cape Cod and Providence, Rhode Island.
  • Lower cost of housing – whether buying or renting.

Those examples are just off the top of my head. By bringing the concept of “rural sourcing” to Middleboro, we’re bringing in new business, improving the skills of the local labor force and keeping some of the country’s jobs in the country.

Seems like a win-win for everyone… what do you think?

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