West Des Moines Lauded for Jobs Creation, Startups to Watch, Main Street Shops: 2012 Business Stories

West Des Moines and the Des Moines metro area grabbed a top spot on one of the most elite rankings in the country for jobs creation, tying with Milwaukee in Forbes magazine’s national ranking of the best cities for jobs in the United States this summer.

Employers in West Des Moines said last summer that they anticipate an upswing in hiring for the next quarter, with nearly one third of employers in the metro area reporting they’ll add jobs. Sixty-four percent don’t plan to change their staffing levels and 2 percent said they weren’t sure of their hiring plans. Three percent had a bleak overall impression of the jobs picture.

“In recent months we have seen an increase in opportunities for job seekers in our area,” Chris Voggesser, West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce president, told Forbes. “This includes opportunities for recent college graduates, veterans returning to the workforce and the underemployed.  Most of our employers feel the economy is turning around and offering them more opportunity to acquire market share within their industry resulting in the need to grow their workforce.”

Expansion Plans Showed Employer Confidence

But that’s only part of the good news that dominated business headlines on West Des Moines Patch last year.

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Big employers’ confidence in the economy was reflected in a December announcement by Wells Fargo, the largest employer n the Des Moines metro, that it is mulling a 239,000-square-foot office building that would increase its total space in the region by 8 percent and add up to .

Already with a sprawling presence in West Des Moines, Wells Fargo asked the City Council  to rezone land at its 187-acre Jordan Creek campus to facilitate the construction.

Another positive indicator:

Jobs numbers released in early in 2013 for November showed West Des Moines’ unemployment rate is steadily decreasing, down to 3.3 percent from 3.5 percent the month prior.

Silicon Prairie Start-Ups to Watch

The Forbes article noted that sectors doing particularly well in West Des Moines include information technology, where startups are nurtured at places like the West Des Moines Business Incubator.

Two West Des Moines technology startups were named to MSNBC’s List of Silicon Prairie Startups to Watch in December.

Topping the list is the e-commerce marketplaceGoodsmiths founded by a pair of Waukee entrepreneurs that goes head-to-head with Etsy. It not only gives artisans and craftspeople the tools they need to sell online, but also offers an online community that's there when you need them. The social networking engine allows users to interact with one another.

James Eliason, who co-founded the company with Levi Rosol  earlier this year after his wife and other users expressed frustration with Etsy.

Eliason said the Silicon Prairie location is an advantage.

“The Silicon Prairie is one of the largest untapped talent and resource pools in the United States,” he told MSNBC. “There are over 20 million residents of the Silicon Prairie who are very loyal and passionate about brands and companies they use.”

Also on the list was Social Money of West Des Moines, which uses award-winning SmartyPig technology to create FDIC goal-saving products for banks, merchants and other industries. These products provide a social networking strategy to engage customers and create new revenue streams.

Gen Y savers. The product replaces the typical savings accounts and programs of the past withs ocial features and a cutting-edge user interface — all for the fraction of the cost of a new program, according to Social Money's web site.

Like Eliason, Social Money co-founder Jon Gaskell told MSNBC that one reason for the success of tech startups in the Midwest is “the people.”

“They are extremely talented and they work extremely hard,” he said.

Valley Junction Wins National Main Street Award

West Des Moines made headlines last spring when Historic Valley Junction was recognized as a Great American Main Street Award winner.

The “original” West Des Moines is now home to 120 eclectic shops exuding charm, charm and more charm.

Judges cited the Historic Valley Junction Foundation’s “remarkable determination and vision since its founding" and said that under the Foundation’s leadership, Valley Junction emerged as a premier arts, entertainment and cultural district in the state and is home of the largest number of specialty stores in the Greater Des Moines metropolitan area.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which presents the awards, also noted challenges presented by construction of indoor shopping venues -- Valley West Mall in the 1970s and Jordan Creek Town Center (the state’s largest shopping center) in 2004 -- and a natural disaster.

Valley Junction was founded in 1846 and quickly became an economic boom town when the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad relocated its roundhouse, switching yards and repair shops from Des Moines to Valley Junction.

Its transformation had been remarkable, but in the time it took for a levee to fail in the historic floods of 1993, it seemed that vision had washed away. Before the district got serious about revitalization in the 1970s, Valley Junction had a reputation as a boozy, tough area.
Though some merchants were back in business within two weeks after the floodwaters receded, it took customers longer to return.

“It took quite a few years to get people to start coming down here again,” said Ann Au, who owns 2 Au Limited on busy Fifth Street.

More coverage of Valley Junction’s Main Street Award:

• Valley Junction Showed Grit as Merchants Cleaned Up Grime of 1993 Flood