• Businesses must strive to be attractive employers (for example by supporting a learning culture and offering good quality employment), as a competitive advantage for attracting and retaining workers.
• Communities need to take ownership of this at the community level (e.g., "welcome wagon", outreach to newcomers by local businesses such as banks, social events, etc.).
• The education system must help build youth's pride in PEI

In addition, participants suggested some guidelines to help define a provincial brand. Participants felt that PEI must:

• Be weary of sending the message that "we are cheap," even if lower cost of living and of doing business are competitive advantages.
• Understand the current labour market pool, its skills, and other attributes (e.g., participative, inclusive, productive and hard-working) before "selling it" externally.
• Understand why people are leaving and why they are returning to better "sell" the brand to Islanders, who often doubt their ability to live, work or invest there.
• Recognize and value the Island's diversity: French, Aboriginal people, immigrants.
• Learn from best practices, from what works elsewhere.
• Leverage PEI's assets - "Small and smart are advantages".

Finally, participants indicated that any initiative to develop a brand for PEI should be driven from the ground up, with communities working in partnership with government, business, labour, the education system, etc. Dialogue members also stressed that the vision had to be developed and bought into by the people of PEI (as one participant said: "don't hire a Toronto firm!").

5.5 Small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs)/Entrepreneurs

Participants felt that SMBs and entrepreneurs could play an important role in job creation. They also felt that governments should invest in supporting SMBs and entrepreneurs, to assist them in fulfilling their potential as job creators and to help them with developing and training their employees, succession planning, etc.