According to Gerry Dick, host and creator of Inside Indiana Business, one of the main economic complications facing Indiana is not a lack of state worker productivity or business sense, but instead the inability to adjust to cultural change.

"With the present daylight-saving time situation and our perspective of entrepreneurial efforts, I feel the state needs to better adjust to economic situations before we can begin to see positive results," Dick said. "I'm a Hoosier born and raised and a glass half full kind of guy, so I know of our state's potential. We just need to adapt culturally to discover better economic results."

Dick, once an anchorman for WRTV, presented his views to local business officials Tuesday night during "An Evening with Gerry Dick" at the Center Lake Pavilion, an event hosted and organized by the Warsaw/Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce.

More than 130 individuals attended the presentation, representing 30 businesses in the Warsaw area. According to Dick, many of the businesses present were a major reason for Warsaw's successful economy.

"This area is a great example of prosperity through advanced manufacturing," Dick said. "I've always looked at Warsaw as interesting from a business perspective."

During his speech, Dick presented a list of Indiana's major business problems, mentioning another cause of economic frustration stemmed from a "brain drain" faced by the state.

Indiana is in the top five states in terms of graduating native students at the college level, but Dick said Indiana is also in the bottom five states in terms of having heads of households with college degrees. These numbers reflect the desire potential business leaders have of leaving Indiana once they are finished with college educations.

"We have to ask ourselves, are we creating a place where people want to live or where people want to leave?" Dick said. "Unless there are opportunities here in Indiana, there will be no opportunities for individuals to want to stay or move back."

Dick said the loss of workers was similar to the loss of corporate headquarters in the state. Though not a defined link, the lack of talent staying in Indiana could be forcing corporations to relocate as well. Less state headquarters resulted in less state jobs, which has plagued Indiana for the last 25 years.

One field Dick said is holding strong is Indiana manufacturing.

"We're far from dead in this field," he said. "It's what we do best. Indiana loves to make things better than anyone else."

According to Dick, advanced manufacturing, such as the orthopedic field, is an area Indiana could greatly take advantage of. Warsaw is a great example how a town can benefit from manufacturing and entrepreneurial efforts.

"Entrepreneurs drive the state economy," Dick said. "And Indiana needs to have a better outlook on efforts to break into markets.

"If an individual doesn't find initial success, many Hoosiers think of it as a failure, which shouldn't be the case. We need to continue to encourage brainstorming efforts. In the long run, we will see the positive outcomes."

Dick also said many Indiana small businesses complained of too many regulations and not enough incentives to encourage new ideas. Rural communities also suffer from the inability to connect to wireless communications, making day-to-day business efforts cumbersome and ineffective.

"Though we have numerous aspects to be proud of in Indiana, I feel we don't take advantage of the state's full potential," Dick said. "It's not something we can accomplish overnight, but a few steps in the right direction will be encouraging to us all."

For more information on Dick and his news program, visit www.insideindianabusiness.com [[In-content Ad]]