By Tracy Miller

Early in my career working for a non-profit, our President came into theoffice, wary of an approaching recession, and said, “Everyone needs to pay forthemselves.” I went home and cried in my Oatmeal, convinced I was about to losemy job. But after the initial panic, I realized what he meant, and that becamethe beginning of my journey as an entrepreneurial thinker.

I spent the next 20 years at that organization, where our mission was to buildinnovation capacity in local government. Often, the simplest ideas like packaging animal control ordinances or providing sample program budgets, were the easiest for others to adopt. While a simple idea, a basic research-packetprogram ended up generating more than $1 million over its lifetime for the organization while producing significant value to local government.

Another venture was our webinar program. What began as live productions in TVstudios in Tampa and Sarasota later evolved to online platforms and provided asteady revenue stream for the company. But most importantly, the special saucein both efforts was the same: take good ideas, scale them to the masses, andequip people with enough information to adapt them to their own needs.

After two decades helping local governments become some of the best communitiesin the country, I was ready to jump from the frying pan into the fire and workdirectly for a premier local government. That opportunity came when Randy Reidrecruited me to Sarasota County, FL. I entered with an idealistic belief thateveryone in government shared my enthusiasm for great communities and publicservice.

The reality was different. Many employees had gone years without a raise,workloads had increased, and burnout was pervasive. Their frustration wasjustified, and it sparked another pivot point in my career. I asked myself:“How can I bring entrepreneurial thinking into local government when we don’tgenerate a profit?” That’s when I realized entrepreneurship isn’t just aboutmaking money. It’s also about saving it, through cost recovery, cost avoidance,and cost savings. So I did just what my President told me to do, I learned howto pay for myself each and every year.

Examples:
- Building out technology platforms without hiring outside consultants
- Analyzing large data sets and turning them into actionable insights
- Conducting process mapping, roadmapping, and best-practice reviews to supportcontinuous improvement
- Crafting policy by merging multiple municipal examples into one clear,effective document
- Teaching others how to apply these methods so inspire like-minded localgovernment practitioners

The bottom line: In a profession where we don’t chase profit, we can stillembrace entrepreneurial thinking. When we do, we demonstrate the tangible valueof our work to the community, and that is a return on investment every residentcan appreciate.

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