Greetings, and welcome to the last quarter of what’s been, to say the least, a challenging 2020.
Business closures and impacts abound due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasingly tumultuous election season has swelled to a fever pitch, and an unprecedented year of civil unrest continue to dominate the headlines, both locally and nationally.
As the days get shorter and colder heading toward winter, it can be easy to fall into the trap of focusing on the negative things going on in the world right now, both from a business-impact standpoint and a personal standpoint.
Seasonal affective disorder is a real thing for many people, so it’s important these last few weeks of 2020 to ensure you’re spending quality time on your mental health and performing whatever levels of self care you feel are warranted to come out stronger and more vigilant as we all hope for a more prosperous 2021.
With that as a theme, I wanted to take space this week to shift from the negativity in this world and instead focus on good news.
One of the things we’ve prided ourselves on since reverting back to a weekly publication in February is ensuring we’re sharing stories of success within our business community, and I think you’ll find two great examples of that on pages 8 and 9 of this week’s print edition.
There, you’ll read about a pair of local startups in Hibear and Sunnyside OffRoad, two companies that share a similar business venture in terms of a focus on outdoor recreation — but the path toward success for both couldn’t be more different.
Aside from celebrating their endeavors, one of the neat things about both stories is they also shine a light on the fact businesses of various genres are either launching in or relocating to Northern Nevada.
It’s not just new companies in tech, advanced manufacturing, logistics and healthcare that are helping guide and drive the economy in Northern Nevada — there are plenty of diverse players of all shapes and sizes on the game board.
Indeed, Northern Nevada has been become a preeminent relocation station for companies from the Bay Area and beyond, which is why we committed a great deal of resources this summer in publishing the 2020 Northern Nevada Relocation Guide.
This new 68-page specialty magazine was inserted in the Sept. 30 edition of the NNBW and was produced in partnership with the Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. It’s loaded with great information relevant both to new companies and residents, as well as those thinking of making the move here.
“We are a kind and generous community,” writes Reno+Sparks Chamber CEO Ann Silver in her intro letter in the magazine, while EDAWN CEO Mike Kazmeirski adds in his own letter: “We welcome you to Northern Nevada and hope you take advantage of all that the region has to offer.”
From top-tier recreation to healthcare to education to retail options and more, the greater Reno-Sparks-Carson region is showing no signs of slowing, and we feel that shining a positive light on Northern Nevada’s economic success in recent years — while underscoring the many factors that set us apart from our hospitality- and gaming-reliant neighbors in the south — is what’s best for business.
Miss the hard copy? Go here to flip through the digital edition.
Speaking of what’s best for business, the voting period wrapped Oct. 6 for our 2020 Best In Business contest.
All told, we received roughly 10,000 votes in our 18 categories, including nearly 3,250 unique voters. It’s been fulfilling to see such great support from our readers and advertisers to ensure a bright spotlight is shone on our business community.
Our mission statement at the NNBW is as follows: “The Northern Nevada Business Weekly is the only business-to-business media organization in Northern Nevada providing business news, special events and digital solutions to business leaders.”
As such, we’re in a unique position to not only report on business news, but we also spend time each week working with our partners to promote business in the region and focus on all economic factors — not just negative ones. After everything we’ve had to endure this year, being able to conduct a contest like this, we feel, fulfills our solutions-based mission.
So what’s next? Currently, we’re tallying up all the votes and plan to publish the full list of finalists in early November. From there, the winners in each of the 18 categories will be published Dec. 30, both online and within the 13th annual Northern Nevada Book of Lists, our marquee special section that’s scheduled to publish the same day to wrap up the year.
Kevin MacMillan is editor of the Northern Nevada Business Weekly. Email him at kmacmillan@nevadanewsgroup.com.
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