By Vince DelaRosa, 9/1/2023
Considerthat some significant American Indian tribes' financial prospects are just a few sparks away from lighting a commercial and investment firestorm. For tribes and investors, collaborations can serve as a catalyst, bringing deals together with tribal opportunities, unlocking capital, fueling growth, job creation, and new frontier markets. Tribes can become engines of regional progress, ensuring their own prosperity while enriching the nation and offering enduring success for investors and other communities alike.
Sometimes in the pursuit of business success, it takes a spark to trigger an entire ecosystem. This is the challenge faced by a majority of tribes today.
Picture an Indian Chief sitting in a forest on a vast pile of wood, shivering in the cold, with no ignition source to start a fire! This imagery encapsulates the economic challenges that numerous tribes are grappling with.
THE WOODPILE IS RESOURCES -
In the picture analogy, I paint the picture of the woodpile representing resources, opportunities, grants, and/or debt capital, while the fire symbolizes equity capital—the vital spark needed for business and investment transformation. American Indian tribes find themselves in an unusual predicament, where the wood represents billions in real opportunities, just needing that crucial spark.
Success for any deal hinges on an initial spark, the catalyst that sets an entire deal (or ecosystem) in motion. It's a universal truth: without an ignition source, any well-crafted strategy will remain dormant.
PULLING TOGETHER TO WORK TOWARDS THE GREATER GOOD -
By forging alliances and working together, tribes can pool their resources and collective reach, effectively creating outside equity entry points that are required to harness the vast reservoirs of debt capital and grants available to them. This unity can serve as the much-needed ignition source, transforming potential deals into projects.
The idea of "Working towards the greater good" embodies a forward-thinking vision. In the context of tribes and the broader American community, this pathway carries strategic significance.
Strategic collaborations could emerge as the linchpin for manifesting this vision. Much like a solitary match ignites an entire woodpile, tribes can employ the potent force of collaboration to spark a transformative wave of economic development throughout America. This approach isn't just advantageous for tribal communities but also extends its benefits to communities across the nation, from Michigan to Ohio and beyond!
The beauty of this approach lies in the intended impact. By promoting collaboration, we not only strengthen tribal economies but also initiate a ripple effect that spills out beyond tribal borders. The dividends of such economic development can reverberate into neighboring communities, ultimately working towards the greater good for all Americans. I feel like prosperity knows no boundaries.
5th Largest GDP?
In fact, read this article link regarding the 5th largest GDP in the world. Tribes and Latino markets together have the world's 5th largest GDP, ahead of Russia, Italy, Canada, Brazil, and many other countries. For investors and communities all over this country, frontier markets are residing on your doorstep and in your backyard.
We have to shift the mindset regarding tribes to alter the broader American economy. If we simply helped a hand full of tribes, we would have a new economic renaissance on our hands! The economic impact would be dramatic.
We (Native Advisors) composed these numbers by using an independent economic report and we blended the economic output and production of American Indian and Latino markets to form the foundation of our economic forecast. Together these markets offer some of the most advanced economic and business investment outputs in the world.
THESE ARE NOT JUST WORDS -
These are not just words for the sake of this article. I have dedicated a lifetime of effort to this work. There have been many success stories, many tribes are doing very well, as noted above. But there is more to do. My goal is to help tribes and America to truly become the "Shining City Upon a Hill!" As such, at the end of this article, I have placed 7 articles with many examples of how to propel real market ideas into action.
THE AMERICA WE COULD IMAGINE - "The Vision I want to Build!"
“[I]n my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.” - Former President, Ronald Regan
STRATEGIC COLLABORATIONS -
Strategic collaboration can manifest in various forms, from strategic alliances and joint ventures to shared initiatives and collective investments. We must recognize the strength that lies in unity and directing it towards shared objectives, we must pull together.
The advantages of such strategic collaboration are nothing short of transformative. Tribes can leverage their combined strengths with outside investors to secure financing, invest in infrastructure, catalyze entrepreneurship, and nurture education and workforce development. In doing so, they not only enhance their economic standing but also become formidable engines of regional and national progress that benefits all Americans.
Moreover, strategic collaboration bridges chasms and constructs connections between tribes and other key stakeholders, including government agencies, enterprises, cities, other Americans, and investors. This web of interconnectivity fosters an environment characterized by cooperation and mutual benefits. This is the foundation for sustainable economic development and stronger investment outcomes.
On the metaphorical photo at the top here, the narrative of an Indian Chief sitting on a pile of wood, desperately needing an ignition source to start a fire, serves as a poignant reflection on the economic challenges many tribes face. The same can be said of cities throughout the country.
CREATING A BUSINESS FIRESTORM TO HELP ALL COMMUNITIES -
The irony is that most tribal emerging business prospects easily beat Wall Street performance results. Corporate taxes, for example, are at least 50% lower with a tribal JV. To understand more, I recommend reading the 7 articles listed below. Furthermore, I would be delighted to present this case at any convention, on a Zoom call, or any investor gathering.
Imagine, with just a little help, investors could yield more returns, and tribes would need to manage the business firestorms they could create. The is the nation I want to live in, where we are all pulling together.
Through strategic collaboration, tribes can ignite new frontier markets. They can breathe life into their extensive resources, igniting a roaring economic fire that secures their future while radiating prosperity across various communities and the American landscape. The economic fabric of American could change with a strong private sector ground game.
The nation at large can benefit when tribes are doing better. In over 42 states tribes could be hiring non-Indians, and helping investors as they help themselves with the essentials of life and crafting tribal governmental solutions to help all of us.
Remember, in the world of business strategy, strategic collaboration is the catalyst that transforms even the iciest of situations into a story of warmth and success. Consider working with tribes, the outcomes can be rewarding and profitable. Let us be sure, as Ronald Regan remarked, that: "We've done our part."
If you would like to work with a tribe on federal contracting, M&A options, new housing for thousands of Americans, building up a few new American cities, enhanced energy systems, broadband connectivity, pharmaceuticals, bio medical research, and financial innovations, let's talk. If you have other ways that you would like to join in on a path to do your part, let's talk. You can contact us here directly.
Want to know more? Below are 7 article links to stimulate some ideas:
2. Doing M&A?
Vince DelaRosa is a former legislator for an American Indian tribe and the founder of Native Advisors.
"BE TRANSFORMATIVE"
-Native Advisors
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