I am continually amazed by the connection and roots our area has within our County. San Diego County is our DMA. A DMA is a designated market area (DMA), also referred to as a media market. Escondido is part of the San Diego DMA which is the full County. This makes up a large geographical area in comparison to others.
I bring this up because our DMA is often used to compare ourselves with other DMA’s. Create a measuring stick to compare ourselves with others. How do we compare to other DMA’s when it comes to business licensing, school performance, sales tax generation, industry composition and on and on.
The Greater Escondido area has a rich history of innovation, talent and influence in our DMA, San Diego.
As most all of us do I travel throughout our County representing the business interest of North Inland County which is where the Greater Escondido Chamber of Commerce is focused. How do we improve our business community, capitalize on our assets, and invest back in ourselves for the benefit for all, that’s all goal. A healthy business community creates economic activity which in turns spurs innovation, jobs, and revenue.
Driving home a couple of days ago from an appointment I had at Caltrans offices in Mission Valley I saw the freeway sign for the 15 north which simply reads Frwy 15 North Escondido 1 mile. As I thought about this more I found myself noting other signage showing north 15 frwy this way and that, all reading 15 frwy North or south Escondido. They didn’t read Poway or Ranch Bernardo or even San Marcos they simply point you toward Escondido, the center of North County.
Escondido and our true sphere of influence is felt well beyond our City limits. Our area is ripe with opportunity. Costco at Westfield, Apple investing in a new campus coming to our area, Palomar Health continues to be our regions #1 employer, Tesla opening a center here in Escondido are just a few examples of some large growth for our area. There are plenty of new smaller businesses choosing our area to open their businesses and in future columns I’m going to write about these.
The point is we are much bigger than we think. We are the Greater Escondido Chamber of Commerce, and we are here to build a better Escondido by representing, supporting and building a business community united in growing and contributing to the future of the North Inland County centered in and around Escondido.
Think big.
Cheers, JR
