Clicking with Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial Communities and Place Based Economic Development

Clicking with Entrepreneurship:

Entrepreneurial Communities and Place Based Economic

Development

Deborah M. MarkleyManaging Director

andKaren A. Dabson

Director of Program Development

2006 CDS Annual International Conference

St. Louis, MOJune 28, 2006

RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

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Overview

Importance of Place in Community Development

Entrepreneurship as a Core CD Strategy Making the Case Entrepreneurs & Entrepreneurship Defined

Communities that Click – Lessons from the Field

Next Steps for Communities


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Why Place Matters

Rural Communities ARE different from their urban and suburban counterparts. Culture of dependency Limited access to resources Isolation, lack of connectedness

No two RURAL communities are alike. Different characteristics, needs, capacities

no “one size fits all” solutions; community-based approaches most effective.


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What is Place Based Economic Development?

Begin with understanding and appreciation of local assets and context what are the unique sources of competitive advantage?

Build on those local assets place based is asset based.

Move away from “waiting to die” or “waiting to be saved” mentality “building your own.”


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Entrepreneurship as a Core Community Development Strategy

Making the case for entrepreneurship as a place based economic development strategy Role of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial activity

in a national and global context. Role of entrepreneurs in small communities.

Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship defined Exercises

Elements of successful entrepreneurship practice


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Role of Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Project – comparative international study concludes:

Positive and significant relationship between entrepreneurial activity and economic growth

No countries with high levels of entrepreneurial activity have low levels of economic growth

National Commission on Entrepreneurship report: Small entrepreneurs responsible for 67% of inventions and

95% of radical innovations since WWII Small group of high growth entrepreneurs (5-15% of all firms)

created 2/3 of net new jobs in late 1990s Not all high tech (Jiffy Lube)


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Role of Entrepreneurs in Small Communities

Economy in most small communities is essentially composed of small enterprises …

Main Street businesses Self-employed Small manufacturers and other businesses Microentrepreneurs

Some of these are truly entrepreneurial in their ventures.

National Commission on Entrepreneurship report: Fewer than 5% of companies achieve high growth But, high growth companies exist in all regions, in places like

Dickinson, ND and Twin Falls, Idaho


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Arguments for Entrepreneurship as a Core CED Strategy

Traditional economic development strategies, i.e., recruitment, aren’t working in most rural places

Scale of economic activity more suited to smaller, rural communities

Greater ability to match assets, limited resources with market opportunities

Bottom Line: Creating an entrepreneur-friendly community/region makes it easier to attract and retain industry and other business.


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Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship Defined

Entrepreneurs people who create and grow businesses

Entrepreneurship the process through which entrepreneurs create and grow businesses

Entrepreneurship Development the infrastructure of public and private policies and practices that foster and support entrepreneurship


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Understanding Entrepreneurial Talent

Potential Aspiring – Desire to own a business (includes youth) Start ups – Have taken the first steps to actually start a

business Business Owners

Survival – Create enterprises to supplement family income when options are few

Lifestyle – Pursue a certain lifestyle or personal goal through choosing self-employment

Entrepreneurs Growth – Proactively expand businesses that result in the

creation of jobs and wealth Serial – “Repeat entrepreneurs” – create several growth

businesses throughout their lifetime


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Exercise #1 – Identifying E Talent

Take a few minutes and use the checklist to identify entrepreneurs in your community.

Place them on the E Talent Mapping Worksheet.

Share a really interesting or unique entrepreneur you have identified with the group.


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Targeting Entrepreneurial Talent

Entrepreneurship Development involves creating an infrastructure to support entrepreneurs.

But, with limited resources, most communities must make strategic decisions about what types of talent to target.

Choice based on your “sweet spot” where development goals, capacity and E talent intersect


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The “Sweet Spot”


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Exercise #2 – Targeting E Talent Look at the Targeting Pros and Cons Checklist

Identifies the benefits and challenges of targeting different types of E talent.

Think about your community’s goals, capacities, and the E talent you identified earlier

Where is your “sweet spot”? Take a few minutes to fill in the Targeting

Worksheet What type of E talent is most strategic for your

community to target?


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Elements of Successful Practice Successful entrepreneurship initiatives …

Focus on entrepreneurs Build on assets Encourage collaboration and take a systems

approach Strategically target entrepreneurs Are rooted in communities but branch out into

regions Engage youth as a means of changing the culture Celebrate community and entrepreneurial success


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HomeTown Competitiveness (HTC) Kellogg EDS recipient

Four pillars Leadership Youth engagement Retaining wealth transfer (charitable

assets) Entrepreneurship

Story of Valley County NE (pop. = 4,647)


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Georgia’s Entrepreneur Friendly Communities Program

Facilitated by state regional marketing managers but driven by communities.

Steps: Build a leadership team Educate community about benefits of entrepreneurship Enhance links to regional and state resources Map assets, including identifying and visiting entrepreneurs Visit from Georgia Tech review team to help develop strategy

14 communities designated to date Story of Coffee County (pop. 37, 413)


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Building a System in Northeast MN Historical commitment to regional

collaboration in economic development Focus on entrepreneurship, particularly micro,

through Northeast Entrepreneur Fund Commitment to taking a “systems approach”

to entrepreneurship development Story of the Arrowhead Entrepreneurial

Development System


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General Themes

Entrepreneur driven Many and unique partnerships Utilizing strengths, assets from within Taking a regional approach Engaging people not usually invited to

the table (youth, minorities, aging) Sharing and celebrating together


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Next Steps for Communities Start really listening to entrepreneurs give

them a chance to be heard by economic development leaders.

Start visiting community businesses Who are they? What are their plans?

Actively engage youth expose them to entrepreneurship through business mentors.

Map the assets you have to encourage and support entrepreneurs (include partnerships) Get a copy of Energizing Entrepreneurs to help you chart a course.


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Exercise #3 – 5 Things You Will Do When You Get Home

On an index card, write down 5 things you will do when you get back to your community because of the information shared in this workshop.

Share one of your “to do” items with the group.


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Contact Information

RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship www.energizingentrepreneurs.org

Deb Markley, Managing Director and Director of Research [email protected]

Karen Dabson, Director of Program Development [email protected]

Thank You!

Clicking with Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial Communities and Place Based Economic Development

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