By Tracy Miller

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

I spent the next 20 years at the Alliance for Innovation, where our mission was to build innovation 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-packet program 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 TV studios in Tampa and Sarasota later evolved to online platforms and provided a steady revenue stream for the company. But most importantly, the special sauce in both efforts was the same: take good ideas, scale them to the masses, and equip people with enough information to adapt them to their own needs.

After two decades helping local governments become some of the best communities in the country, I was ready to jump from the frying pan into the fire and work directly for a premier local government. That opportunity came when Randy Reid recruited me to Sarasota County, FL. I entered with an idealistic belief that everyone in government shared my enthusiasm for great communities and public service.

The reality was different. Many employees had gone years without a raise,workloads had increased, and burnout was pervasive. Their frustration was justified, and it sparked another pivot point in my career. I asked myself:“How can I bring entrepreneurial thinking into local government when we don’t generate a profit?” That’s when I realized entrepreneurship isn’t just about making 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 how to 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 support continuous improvement
- Crafting policy by merging multiple municipal examples into one clear, effective document
- Teaching others how to apply these methods to inspire like-minded local government practitioners

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

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