Photography by Stephen Elledge

Speaking with Amy Holloway is like opening a window and inviting fresh air inside. Her vibrant personality, effective economic strategies and humanitarian sensibilities and sensitivities need to be cloned.

Starting Avalanche Consulting in 2005 after 10 years as a strategist and executive at other consulting firms, Holloway says, “I knew I needed a wealth of experience before opening my own shop. The field of economic development strategic planning is a niche sector of consulting.”

Noting that there are few people in the country who are true experts on the subject, Holloway explains Avalanche Consulting’s boutique approach to the abundant services it offers.

“I formed Avalanche so I can take a personal role in each project,” she says. “I wanted to start a firm that could work with progressive communities willing to let us take a highly creative approach in helping them revive their economies.”

Helping communities create jobs and business investments, Avalanche Consulting spends six to eight months working with a community to evaluate their economic situation, identify target audiences for future growth and craft a detailed action plan to create a more competitive place for jobs and investments.

“It is essential to me that our planning process is transparent and involves a wide diversity of people from across the community,” Holloway says.

Avalanche’s refreshing and unique approach is “we show our clients a lot of love.”

Listening to the visions and ideas of hundreds of people, Avalanche incorporates those thoughts into its strategic plans.

“I believe this is a core reason why our strategies are implemented and produce results,” Holloway says.

In the past five years, Avalanche’s clients have created more than $2.5 billion in new investments and thousands of new jobs.

Some of Avalanche’s new client list includes a completed strategy for the Charleston, S.C., region, and an economic development strategy for Miami-Dade County, as well as another one for the seven-county Jacksonville, Fla., region.

“We just started the strategic planning for Miami-Dade County,” Holloway says.

Avalanche’s effective approach to economic development has landed it on a national stage. Avalanche – a three-person shop in Austin – successfully competed against much larger consultancies to win the assignment to help Miami-Dade County revive its economy.

Evaluating, planning and building a healthy economy are Holloway’s plans with any client. Exploring the education, business climate, infrastructure and community at large is only the beginning.

With all the leaders in a community involved in a strategic planning process, Avalanche Consulting is a team that brings about real economic change with incredible customer service. As a team, “we identify what is wrong. This takes time,” Holloway says. “We either find a new industry that should be built on or grow more with the existing foundations, yet with a different plan.”

Avalanche Consulting devises the planning stages carefully, and with fine-tuned precision, makes it work. Telling clients what they need to do, who does what and how much the process will cost follows suit.

Holloway believes involving the media as much as possible is important.

“We do not hide any information,” she says. “We let the people know what is going on.”

This inclusive approach reawakens the community because there is a defined methodology, and they all want the same results.

Leadership within the community equates with economic success. “We involve individuals who are not typically asked to give input,” Holloway says. “It takes the entire community, not just established leadership, to shift an economy’s direction. A lot of the time, these people are reaching out. Together, we plan the future of their economy.”

Holloway differentiates what they do in comparison with other companies.

“We focus a great deal on innovative workforce training programs as a way to improve economic development. We help communities create jobs. But we have to look at the educational infrastructure first,” she says. “Many adults [who] have lost their jobs don’t know what to do. Some go back to college, while others can’t even contemplate this notion. They are in search of a new career path.

“What we do is let the people know that our strategies will work. Being positive and making the unemployed proud of what they have benefits the community.”

Holloway admits that many areas throughout the country are behind in marketing. “Technology is at the core of any successful marketing plan,” she says.

Avalanche Consulting does not allow clients to use print materials. According to Holloway, “Digital is the only way to go.”

Proof of this is on the company’s remarkable website. A plethora of information is available.

Earlier this year, Avalanche Consulting implemented a strategy for Topeka, Kan. Announcing that M&M Mars is constructing the first U.S. manufacturing facility in 30 years in Topeka, the investment of $250 million has already created hundreds of initial jobs.

“Getting the communities in the ‘go mode’ is essential,” Holloway says. “A major problem that has been encountered is that the leadership is in status quo mode. These people are unwilling to look at themselves with a critical eye. We become that all-encompassing eye to help revive communities.”

Holloway and her staff facilitate community empowerment, a vital component of new success.

Past clients include outstanding organizations such as Team Texas, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Upstate SC Alliance, GO Topeka, the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Texas State University and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, to name a few.

It is obvious why Holloway is an inspiration to business communities nationwide.

“Passion drives an entrepreneur. I am passionate about our business and driven to work hard because I believe what we do makes a real difference to our communities and the lives of their residents,” she says.

Discipline and focus are other “musts” for success. Being a one-woman shop until her husband, Chris, joined the firm last year, Holloway still does not have enough hours in the day.

“I have to stay on track, which translates into working day and night so I can give my clients the best product available,” she says.

A highlight in Holloway’s projects is the power of partnerships. “An economy is a complex organism with many moving parts and pieces,” she says. “We constantly bring in national partners to help us solve economic problems that may be unique to a given community. We know we can’t know it all.

“My goal is not to make Avalanche the biggest company. We will keep concentrating on doing the best work and having a positive impact on the communities we get involved with. Getting personally engaged with every client is inevitable and a rewarding experience.”

Given the chance, Holloway “would like to be sipping a margarita at the beach.” Her dynamic personality and business acumen are only two reasons why I asked if I could join her. We have a date in five years.

When I wondered why Holloway has not contacted our president, she smiled.

“If you can get in touch with him, I would love to talk to him.”

Next step: calling Obama.

For more information, visit www.avalancheconsulting.com.