SEEDS was high impact event with good information shared

The Southeast Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Symposium (SEEDS) held last week in Cape Girardeau featured several fascinating discussions on key business issues that will impact this region and nation in the years ahead.

Organized by the Harrison College of Business & Computing at Southeast Missouri State University and the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, the half day conference featured a panel discussion on health care in Southeast Missouri featuring four executives of leading facilities in the area; a presentation by senior economist Charles Gascon of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; a fireside chat on entrepreneurship; and the keynote address by economic futurist Andrew Busch.

The day was full of information, some of which was covered in a story by business reporter Christopher Borro on Friday and Saturday in the Southeast Missourian. Watch for more coverage from the conference in both the Southeast Missourian and B Magazine in the coming days.

A few of the takeaways:

* Economic development plays a critical role not only for jobs and wages, but it's key for improving health care outcomes. The 8th Congressional District is the 10th poorest district in the nation, and this is impacting the health for some of the poorest in our region.

* Entrepreneur Dan Cobb gave his four pillars for success: being willing to work hard and do whatever it takes to succeed; be really good and have talent; have a little luck along the way; and take risks.

* While inflation is starting to come down, persistent high prices on everyday items are still plaguing consumers. Though keynote speaker Andrew Busch did not expect the United State to experience a recession next year, he did says gross domestic product likely will slow.

* There are a number of X factors that could impact the economy going forward, most we don't want to think about. Things such as global conflicts, cybersecurity attacks, contested 2024 election or President Joe Biden experience a health issue.

* There are persistent challenges with the housing market's affordability, and with many workers still working remotely, commercial real estate in major cities is suffering.

* Venture capital companies are betting big on AI.

It was a fascinating day with much information shared. Hats off to the Harrison College of Business and Computing and the Cape Girardeau Chamber for hosting.