// Leave-behind

The two pages a council can keep.

Who this work is for, how an engagement is structured, and the seven steps between the first call and the day something new opens. Letter size, built to print.

Download PDF
JAMESCUFFE.COM

A study does not hire anybody.

Small-town economic development — research, building, and staying. Leave-behind for council review.
Who This Is For
Affluent townsDiversifying so prosperity does not rest on one employer.
Comeback townsWorking toward a turnaround, looking for the right next move.
Towns hit hardNeeding real jobs, not another plan on a shelf.
Engagement Structure
No charge — Call or videoA conversation about the town — what it has, what it lost, what it keeps asking for.
Fee — On siteTime in the town, not a site visit. Council, business owners, and residents — over meals, where people actually meet. Ends with a written read on what the town can support, which the town keeps. Proposed fee: $12,000 for three days, $21,000 for five; longer stays cost more per day, and travel is at cost.
Terms agreed — BuildingWhere something real is found, I stay. The company gets built and operated, not handed back as a recommendation. Companies from my own portfolio can land in town to support diversification, and some can start immediately. I also come as an investor in small-town community development.
What It Owes The Town

A company built to stay, not a report that leaves when the invoice does. The standard is jobs a family can live on, grants for local entrepreneurs, and scholarships for children’s sports. Visible local commitments, like the jerseys on the little league team, are what make an employer the town’s own. They are the standard it is measured against, not a promise added after the fact.

James Cuffe
Proselyte Holdings
jamescuffe.com/start
PAGE 1 OF 2
JAMESCUFFE.COM

The seven-step process

What happens between the first call and the day something new opens.
01
The call
Free. A first conversation about the town — what it has, what it is missing, what it keeps circling back to.
02
The visit
Paid time on the ground. Not a site visit — the actual work starts here.
03
Listening
Council, business owners, residents — over meals, where people actually talk.
04
Research
Testing what was heard against what is actually feasible for this town.
05
Visualization
Shaping what the opportunity could look like, concretely, for this specific place.
06
Crystallization
Narrowing everything found down to what is actually worth building. An idea that needs a formal feasibility study gets one, scoped and quoted separately.
07
The build
The company gets built and operated — not handed back to the town as a recommendation.

This is early-stage practice work. No municipal engagement has been completed under it yet, and this page does not pretend otherwise. References, insurance, and bonding are confirmed for each engagement, on the scoping call.

James Cuffe
Proselyte Holdings
jamescuffe.com/start
PAGE 2 OF 2