There is a hard truth that tends to surface when markets get uncertain.

Communities do not lose projects because demand disappears. They lose them because readiness cannot be demonstrated with confidence.

That idea sits at the center of a recent conversation on the Econ Dev Show, where Dane Carlson, CEO of Sitehunt and host of the podcast, sat down with Mike Kamerlander, President and CEO of the Hays Caldwell Economic Development Partnership. Central Texas is growing fast, but it is also navigating infrastructure pressure, longer timelines, and capital that is more cautious than it was a few years ago.

The lesson is simple and uncomfortable.

Raw dirt is not a strategy.

Key Takeaways

  • Readiness is risk reduction, especially in uncertain markets.
  • Ambiguity quietly filters communities out early, long before incentives or site visits.
  • The fastest teams win because they can answer site questions with confidence, and they can do it repeatedly.

Growth Does Not Excuse the Basics

Central Texas continues to attract companies not because of clever branding or incentive gymnastics, but because it does the fundamentals well. Product readiness comes before promotion. Development processes are predictable. Site information is current. Cities and counties collaborate instead of competing.

Those basics matter most when conditions tighten. Companies do not stop asking questions in uncertain markets. They ask better ones, earlier. Regions that cannot answer them clearly are filtered out long before a site visit or incentive discussion ever happens.

Marketing can open a door. Readiness determines whether anyone walks through it.

A Phrase That Endures for a Reason

There is a well-known expression in economic development that captures this reality. “No Product, No Project” is a registered trademark of Garner Economics, and it persists because it describes how site selection actually works.

Incomplete site data, outdated assumptions about utilities or zoning, unclear entitlement paths, and vague timelines quietly kill deals every day. Not publicly. Not dramatically. Just early.

The regions that stay busy are the ones that can say, with confidence, here is what we have, here is what it can support, and here is how long it takes to move.

Speed and predictability are forms of risk reduction.

Uncertainty Does Not Kill Projects. Ambiguity Does.

One of the more important insights from the conversation is that capital rarely disappears. It waits.

Projects slow when risk cannot be measured, not when interest evaporates. Communities that invest in alignment, infrastructure planning, and honest conversations with private industry are better positioned when timelines restart.

When capital moves again, it moves toward clarity.

The Operational Reality Inside EDOs

Most economic developers already understand readiness conceptually. The challenge is execution.

Site and building data lives in too many places. Institutional knowledge walks out the door. RFIs consume time that should be spent on relationships. Accuracy is expected, but systems are often improvised.

This is not a talent problem. It is an operating system problem.

A Practical Readiness Checklist

If you want less ambiguity and fewer last-minute surprises, tighten the basics and make them repeatable.

  • Site facts: Parcel, acreage, ownership, price guidance, and a primary contact.
  • Utilities with evidence: Confirmed capacity and distance for electric, gas, water, and sewer, with a source and a last-updated date.
  • Entitlements: Zoning, allowed uses, and a clear path and timeline for changes.
  • Access and constraints: Transportation access, floodplain, wetlands, and other constraints stated plainly.
  • Workflow: A single place where updates live, where changes are tracked, and where RFIs can be answered without rebuilding the story.

Where Sitehunt Fits

This is where Sitehunt comes in, and just as importantly, where it does not.

Sitehunt does not replace relationships. It does not manage business retention visits, handle board politics, or invent workforce where none exists. It will not make anyone sound smart after one login.

What it does is support readiness.

By centralizing site and building information, accelerating RFI responses, and reducing deal-killing surprises caused by bad or missing data, Sitehunt helps teams move with confidence instead of guesswork. It makes speed and accuracy easier to sustain, even when staffing is thin and timelines are compressed. If you want a deeper look, start with the Property Database and RFI Automation pages.

Tools do not win deals. But the lack of tools loses them quietly and consistently.

Readiness Is the Advantage

The takeaway from Central Texas is not that growth solves everything. It is that fundamentals still matter.

Product readiness compounds over time. Predictable processes build trust. Accurate information shortens timelines. Regions that do the boring work early are the ones prepared when capital finally moves.

Raw dirt is not a strategy. Readiness is.

If you want the full conversation, listen to Episode 205 of the Econ Dev Show.

To see the workflow behind readiness:

Dane Carlson is the CEO of Sitehunt and host of the Econ Dev Show podcast.