Some Short Quotes:

"If Donald Trump was from the South, he would say, 'You're fired, but, bless your heart, you've tried,' " sums up Joe Hollingsworth, CEO of Hollingsworth Cos. in Clinton, Tenn., and author of The Southern Advantage., USA TODAY 7/9/04

"The South is thriving like no other part of the country," Plano Courier Star 11/12/03

"It's hard for us in the South to see how far we've come because we don't have a similar benchmark like in the north or west," Plano Courier Star 11/12/03

"With the rush to global outsourcing, many organizations overlook the proven business opportunities these 17 states have to offer," Tampa Bay Business Journal 11/21/03

"Labor unions hurt the chances of communities attracting new business," The Florida Times-Union 11/24/03

"Unions are just one of the things that get you taken off the list of potential locations," The Florida Times-Union 11/24/03

"Very few people recognize the power of the automotive industry in the South already," The Atlanta Journal Constitution 1/11/04

"Detroit's Big Three could be doomed if they don't follow the lead of foreign competitors and move more manufacturing capacity to the South," The Atlanta Journal Constitution 1/11/04

"Detroit will wake up its three domestic manufacturers and realize that the center of gravity of successful automotive plants is in Right-to-Work Southern states," The Grand Rapids Press 2/11/04

"Often overlooked elements-an airport with at least a 5,000 foot runway, a golf course with suitable housing and 'liquor by the drink'-are known as the three brass rings of development," The Press and Standard 2/17/04

"There's no secret formula for growing a community, but he knows what doesn't work-consultants," The Press and Standard 2/17/04

"We've got a lot of county commissioners, chambers of commerce and labor union representatives in the North reading the book. They say they read it and they want to change the mindset that has contributed to the migration of businesses and workers from other regions of the nation, particularly the Northeast, to the South," Times Observer 2/19/04

"Business owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs simply can't afford to overlook the Southern Advantage," Times Observer 2/19/04

"The Civil War has always fascinated people in the South. People are proud of the South. It's a good way to increase your tourism dollars," The News Virginian 2/26/04

"The communities with the vision to capitalize on this recruitment asset with be rewarded by being able to attract some of the most vibrant industries," The Circleville Herald 2/28/04

"If you look across the South, those counties able to hold local taxes down are the ones with the most active industrial and business bases," The Daily Citizen 2/9/04

"Toyota will probably pay $14 an hour in San Antonio. If you brought that plant to Michigan or Ohio and told job applicants that they would get $14 an hour, Toyota would be laughed at," San Antonio Express-News 3/13/04

"The Southern economy is poised to enjoy its best years ever in the immediate future. This improvement will come because of the South's pro business attitude, low unionization rate and a young entrepreneurial better educated population." FOX News Channel, April 2004

"South Carolina has been incredibly successful attracting foreign development and foreign investment," FOX News Channel 5/11/04

"What we've seen is erosion in manufacturing in the nineties. Now that's beginning to balance and come back to South Sourcing. People or investors from overseas investing in the South to develop their business models," FOX News Channel 5/11/04

More Detailed Reviews:

Author tells Michigan to wake up and smell the right-to-work coffee Booth Newspapers, February 12, 2004
By Rick Haglund

Joe Hollingsworth Jr. speaks in a slow, friendly drawl befitting that of a southern gentleman.

But his business message comes across as anything but gentle to Michigan and other northern states fighting to hang on to jobs.

Hollingsworth, a commercial property developer and venture capitalist from Tennessee, says the big-labor, "Michigan mindset" is the "death knell" for economic vitality. Hollingsworth says companies that want to prosper must move to the corporate-friendly South.

He presents his case in his new book, "The Southern Advantage: Why You Should Consider Doing Business In The World's Fourth-Largest Economy," co-authored by Mike Randle and Trisha Ostrowski of Southern Business and Development magazine.

Hollingsworth and conservative pro-business types argue that Michigan's labor unions raise employers' costs with high wages and lucrative benefit packages, and make companies less nimble with restrictive work rules.

Foreign automakers in the South have avoided unionization by paying workers wages comparable to what union workers in Michigan earn. They also have lower benefit costs because they employ younger, healthier workers.

Hollingsworth's book could be dismissed as an expanded marketing brochure for his company, which develops business parks in the 17-state southern United States, stretching from Texas to Maryland.

"Most people will say that it's kind of home cooking," Hollingsworth told me in a telephone interview.

But his description of the South as an increasingly attractive location for people and businesses is hard to repudiate.

He cites figures from the Census Bureau that show the population of the region has doubled in the past 30 years, with no slowdown in sight. The South, home to more than 100 million people, is the most populace region in the country.

The South's gross regional product, which measures economic output, was higher in 2001 than that of the Midwest, Northeast or the West, according to figures cited in the book from the U.S. Statistical Abstract.

Hollingsworth acknowledges that the South is shedding low-skilled, low-wage jobs to Mexico. The loss of thousands of manufacturing and textile jobs in South Carolina, for example, was a major issue in that state's recent Democratic presidential primary.

But Hollingsworth says the growth of new industries, such as advanced manufacturing, health care and information technology, have provided employment opportunities for those displaced from low-skill manufacturing jobs.

Perhaps the biggest economic influence in the South over the past decade has been auto factories built by Nissan, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other foreign automakers.

Hollingsworth said the South's heritage of right-to-work, which outlaws compulsory union membership, has been a strong lure for those companies. But he also cites the South's quality of life, low taxes, skilled work force and proximity to markets.

Hollingsworth predicts in the book that it will be only a matter of time before Detroit automakers follow their foreign competitors southward.

"Detroit will wake up with its three domestic manufacturers and realize that the center of gravity of successful automotive plants is in Right-to-Work Southern states," he writes. "Indeed the death knell is simply to stay in the 'Michigan' mindset."

It doesn't have to be that way. General Motors Corp.'s success with its Cadillac plant and other operations in Lansing shows that automakers can prosper with a motivated, unionized work force.

And at a time when employers are demanding workers with high educational levels, Hollingsworth acknowledges that the South's subpar education system puts it at a competitive disadvantage with Michigan and other northern states.

But as he contends in the book, it won't be easy to reverse the flow of people and businesses migrating south to find their places in the sun.

© 2004 Booth Newspapers.

Automakers empower South - "The Southern Advantage" Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 11, 2004

Not that many years ago, when you bought a car or truck, you knew it was made in Detroit. Today when you buy one, even those from manufacturers based in Japan or Germany, the chances are increasingly good it was assembled in the American South. "Very few people recognize the power of the automotive industry in the South already," said Joe Hollingsworth Jr., author of a new book, "The Southern Advantage," that argues the region has become the nation's premier economic powerhouse, partially propelled by new Southern-made cars and light trucks.

Already the South is home to one-fifth of America's automotive assembly capacity and one-third of its auto parts plants. "Just in the last year, there was more activity in that sector than we've seen in any sector in 12 years," said Michael Randle, owner of Southern Business & Development, a Birmingham-based magazine. "We had 85 significant automotive-related investments and job-making deals in the South in calendar year 2003 -- the most ever." Hollingsworth said foreign automakers are winning the war thanks to willing Southern labor. "The market share is all going to the foreign companies because they can produce so much more efficiently in the South," he said.

Union vs. Non-union, The Times-Union, Jacksonville, November 24, 2003
By CHRISTOPHER CALNAN

The union presence in Jacksonville is minimal, so is that the reason some companies find relocating here so attractive?

Joe Hollingsworth, the author of The Southern Advantage, (Economic Research Press, $27.95.) said there's no evidence that unionized states have better-educated residents. Right-to-work states (there are 23 of them) are thriving compared to other states, he said. Labor unions hurt the chances of communities attracting new business, Hollingsworth said. "It's one of the key things that knock areas out [of competitions]," he said. "Unions are just one of the things that get you taken off the list" of potential locations.

Rebel yell: Business book claims South holds economic advantage The Tampa Bay Business Journal November 24, 2003
The Baysider

Doing business in the South pays off, according to a new book on the region's economy.

"The Southern Advantage: Why You Should Consider Doing Business in the World's Fourth-Largest Economy" hit shelves this month and introduced "south-sourcing."

Joe Hollingsworth Jr., author and CEO of Tennessee-based The Hollingsworth Companies, touts a business trend that places all or part of an enterprise in one or more southern states.

"With the rush to global outsourcing, many organizations overlook the proven business advantages and opportunities these 17 states have to offer," Hollingsworth stated in a release.

Some southern tidbits highlighted in the book include:

• The South currently holds the top spot in every Gross Regional Product category.
• Startup businesses have a higher rate of success in the South.
• The South leads all U.S. regions in foreign direct investment.
• The region leads the nation in job creation.