7 th Annual National Value-Added Ag Conference Indianapolis, Indiana June 16-17, 2005 The 3-Legged Stool of Entrepreneurship Dr. Deborah M. Markley Co-Director RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship and Dr. Sam Cordes Purdue University

Why are we talking about entrepreneurship? “Part of our mission … is to challenge the old assumptions, stretch our thinking, and provide new tools and methods in order to improve our effectiveness with those we serve.” conference brochure Rural leaders are looking for ways to re-energize local economies and bring hope to community residents. Many leaders recognize the limited returns from traditional ED approaches and are considering new “grow from within” or entrepreneurship strategies.

Making the Case for 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

Making the Case – cont’d. National Commission on Entrepreneurship report (Embracing Innovation: Entrepreneurship and American Economic Growth): – 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 , 2.2 million nonemployee firms added in U.S., 31% increase in sales (Census).

Making the Case – cont’d. Panel Study on Entrepreneurial Dynamics (Kauffman Foundation) found: – At any time, 10 million Americans engaged in starting a business – Gender and racial differences (men twice as likely and African Americans twice as likely to start businesses) – Place matters: Rates of entrepreneurship higher in urban than rural

What about rural entrepreneurship? NCOE and CFED Mapping Rural Entrepreneurship found: – Entrepreneurial Growth Companies in all regions – Hot spots of entrepreneurship activity across rural America (Nebraska, Kentucky) RUPRI Center’s work suggests: – Fewer entrepreneurs in rural places – Less well developed systems of support – But, examples of successful entrepreneurship development initiatives across rural America

New Way of Thinking about Economic Development Entrepreneurship as the bedrock for economic development. Creating an entrepreneur-friendly community/region/state makes it easier to attract and retain industry and other business. Entrepreneur-friendly relates to both business and community environment. Talk about what we’ve learned from those rural places that are adopting this new way of thinking.

What Is the 3-Legged Stool? The Entrepreneur The Business The Community Culture and Context

Successful Entrepreneurship Development Programs… Focus on entrepreneurs – understanding entrepreneurial talent – Potential entrepreneurs – Existing business owners – Entrepreneurs Nebraska’s Home Town Competitiveness program

Successful Entrepreneurship Development Programs… Build on assets – Traditional economic development assets – sites, utilities, etc.) – Non-traditional assets – high speed Internet, quality of life features, access to lifelong learning resources, etc. – Entrepreneurs as assets!

Successful Entrepreneurship Development Programs… Encourage collaboration – Public – Private – Non-profit North Carolina’s Business Resource Alliance Kellogg Foundation Entrepreneurship Development Systems grant competition

Successful Entrepreneurship Development Programs… Strategically target entrepreneurs – No “one size fits all” approach – Target to specifically address community’s or region’s entrepreneurial talent – Target for early success Entrepreneurial League System® (West Virginia)

Creating an Entrepreneurial Culture Entrepreneurship development is about more than helping entrepreneurs start businesses. Need to embed those businesses in supportive community environment. Successful initiatives do this by… – Engaging youth – Celebrating success

Engaging Youth Gallop poll: 69% of high school students want to start a business; 84% are not prepared to do so! Proven resources: REAL Enterprises ( BizTech ( Mini-Society (Kauffman Foundation) WV’s Dreamquest High School Business Plan Competition ( Youth can be powerful change agents!

Celebrating Success Celebrate to reinforce cultural change Celebrate to maintain and build momentum Celebrate to influence policy makers Joint Ribbon Cuttings Business Plan Competitions Fairfield, Iowa – E of the Year, E Hall of Fame, “Silicorn Valley”, Fairfield Business Showcase –

Preparing the Bed for Entrepreneurship It’s all about the entrepreneurs – this is as much a human development process as a business development process. Entrepreneurship development is about helping entrepreneurs embark and move forward with the creative process. But…

It takes a system to grow an entrepreneur! This system of support includes… – People who can direct entrepreneurs to the right services – People who can help an innovative entrepreneur turn an idea into a viable business plan – People who can identify management weaknesses and help build an entrepreneurial team – People who can work with entrepreneurs to develop skills, such as financial skills – People who can help identify market opportunities – People who can excite young people about entrepreneurship

Going Forth Remaining sessions at this conference will help you… – Better understand the skills needed to work directly with entrepreneurs to help them grow – Better understand the skills and tools needed to prepare the community bed in which these entrepreneurs will grow The RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship is ready to help!

For More Information Deb Markley, Co-Director – Don Macke, Co-Director – Brian Dabson, Co-Director –