🔒Diversification, adaptability keys to business survival

The economy of Connecticut, and indeed the country, has fundamentally changed since the economic recession of 2008. And every business needs to rethink how it operates if it is going to continue to thrive and expand.

While some economic indicators show the economy has improved, with more jobs and more people back at work, income remains stagnant. The impact is evident in Connecticut's state budget, which relies heavily on income tax revenues that have never recovered to their pre-recession levels.

In short, consumers have less disposable income to spend. And businesses need to be more creative in what they produce, and in how they market it.

The Mohegan Tribe has a long history with change in the region. Though we have operated the Mohegan Sun resort for 20 years, Connecticut has been our home for more than 300, and in that time the Tribe has seen or played a role in countless shifts in political and economic power.

One transformational change came in 1994, when the federal government recognized the Mohegan Tribe as a sovereign nation, and the Tribe gained the ability to influence our own economy on the Uncasville reservation.

When we opened our world-class gaming site in 1996, the Tribe did so with the full realization that gaming could not be the Tribe's sole business. We knew then that to truly succeed in providing for our Tribal members we needed multiple business interests.

With Mohegan Sun's success, the Tribe began diversification efforts in 2003 with an aquaculture business, and a year later with an information technology company. For a variety of reasons those ventures were closed, but we learned a lot about non-gaming opportunities.

In 2010, the Mohegan Tribe established a strategic initiative department. For the first time the Tribe committed a full-time professional to build on our experience, identify potential business opportunities and bring them to the Tribe.

We began to consider businesses already working with Mohegan Sun, to see if we could acquire or start a venture and capture a margin that was not being paid to a third party.

We considered a fish farm in Washington State, a fresh salmon company in Maine, a buffalo meat processor and a cigarette and candy distributor. We looked at hydroponics for tomatoes, vertical farming for herbs, and a pasta and lasagna manufacturer. We even considered a company that made plates and utensils from recycled materials, and another that produced movies.

While we worked to find the right fit, we made smaller investments in companies that produced biometric identification, heating and cooling controls and artificial intelligence services. We even developed an electronic scoring system for boxing and mixed martial arts that is now being used by boxing commissioners in the U.S. and Mexico.

In 2012, we turned our attention to the franchise business, and through a lengthy process of investigating a number of companies, we became convinced that franchise food was the right market for the Tribe given our core business.

Since 2013, we have entered agreements with Arooga's Grille House and Sports Bar Smashburger and Jersey Mike's Subs, and opened restaurants in Uncasville, Meriden and Waterford, with plans for more sites across the region in the coming years. And building on a popular gourmet-to-go concept, we joined with Pasta Vita in Old Saybrook with plans to expand to locations in Fairfield County and the Hartford area.

But we've also remained committed to diversity in business, and invested in an office machine distributor and a company that creates wood pellets for residential heating.

It may be years before we see the kind of economic booms of the 1980s and '90s. And diversification takes time and commitment. Some ventures will be successful, while others will test resolve.

The Mohegan Tribe has shown its resilience and adaptability for more than three centuries, and we will meet today's challenge to generate non-gaming jobs and economic growth. The alternative is to do nothing, and to let the market dictate our financial future, and that is unacceptable.

Jeanette Ziegler is the chief operating officer of Mohegan Holding Company.