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A Message from Sandy Baruah A Framework for Developing Rural Entrepreneurship Supporting Rural Entrepreneurship Jack Schultz: A Man with 7 1/2 Keys to Small Town Success The HomeTown Competitiveness Initiative Incorporating Entrepreneurship into NC's ED Infrastructure Entrepreneurship on Tribal Lands Innovation Commercialization in a Rural Region Kentucky Leadership Program Coaches Entrepreneurs Wyoming Business Camp Encourages Youth to Make Their Own Jobs  Subscribe
About Economic Development America
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A Framework for Developing Rural Entrepreneurship (cont.)
1. Understanding Entrepreneurial Talent. Entrepreneurship development is a human development strategy even more than a business development strategy. The entrepreneur and his or her dreams need to be at the center of any strategy. The first step in creating an entrepreneur-focused strategy is to identify and understand the entrepreneurial talent in a rural place. Every rural community or region has a range of entrepreneurial talent, from those who have the potential to become entrepreneurs – young people, displaced workers, people reentering the workforce – to existing business owners who aspire to create new business models and reach into new markets, to those high-tech, high-growth entrepreneurs who have the potential to generate a large and significant impact on a local economy. The mix of entrepreneurial talent may include microenterprises employing fewer than five people, larger enterprises with more than 50 employees, people with limited skill sets and those who are creating their third or fourth ventures. And, there may be special populations – e.g., youth, artisans, or new immigrants – whose entrepreneurial aspirations need to be nurtured. To create a strategy focused on the needs of entrepreneurs, communities and regions must develop an understanding of and appreciation for the full range of existing and potential entrepreneurs.
Because entrepreneurship development is a new approach to economic development for most rural regions, local leaders may require convincing in order to embrace this new approach. Making the case for entrepreneurship requires a two-fold strategy. First, the plethora of national and international research that describes the positive relationship between entrepreneurial activity and economic growth should be shared with policy makers and leaders at the state and local levels.4 At the same time, a powerful tool for making the case exists in the stories of local entrepreneurs, who all too often are less visible to local leaders and economic developers. Stories of their struggles and their victories can often help to make the case in a way that data cannot. Rural areas that are successfully implementing entrepreneurship development strategies have found ways to actively engage entrepreneurs as advisors and leaders in this process.
Leaders and advocates of entrepreneurship must lay the groundwork for strategy development. Otherwise, they risk the temptation to reach for the development strategy du jour instead of building a customized strategy appropriate to the region’s unique features. There are three steps to laying this groundwork. One is determining readiness for entrepreneurship, which includes the Understanding Entrepreneurial Talent and Making the Case elements outlined above. It also includes determining whether there are organizations or individuals who already embrace entrepreneurship and can lead the way, and whether capacity exists within the community to undertake entrepreneurship development. Once a community has determined that it is ready for entrepreneurship, the next step is to identify the development assets in the region on which the strategy can be built. Who is already working to support entrepreneurs? What service providers and capital providers exist within the community and the broader region? What youth programs exist to encourage entrepreneurship, or that could encourage entrepreneurship? What unique assets exist in the region that could become a source of new competitive advantage, e.g., local artisans, community colleges, heritage tourism destinations, natural resources, and niche farmers? Finally, the community needs to understand its capacity to undertake any type of economic development effort. Entrepreneurship development requires innovative thinking and leadership.Who will become the leaders of entrepreneurship development? How can you actively engage entrepreneurs in leadership and strategy development? What new leaders and capacity can be tapped within the community and wider region to support entrepreneurship development?
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