Book Review - "Energizing Entrepreneurs, Charting a Course for Rural Communities,"

As promised, here is a review of Energizing Entrepreneurs, Charting a Course for Rural Communities," by Deborah Markley, Don Macke and Vicki B. Luther. Published by RUPRI Center for Rural development and Heartland Center for Leadership, both in Lincoln, Nebraska, Copyright 2005.

It took me longer than it should have to read this book. I guess too much going on this summer. It is not a long book and one that is written so those with some knowledge of local economic development can easily understand it. I finished the book last night while waiting for my daughters and their friend to get out of the Midnight showing of the movie "Eclipse", so I hope my 57 year old brain retained everything at that wee hour.

This book is a "Must Read" for anyone thinking about developing an entrepreneurial development strategy for a rural community. The authors have, arguably more experience working with rural communities on entrepreneurial development than anyone else, at least in North America.

The book does not only guide one through the process of developing a program in a rural community, It discusses different methods used in different situations and it provides cases from throughout Rural America to illustrate that what is being proposed can and does work. It doesn't stop there however it explains why things do or do not work, how to work with different types of entrepreneurs and it suggests alternatives to try if one method doesn't work in your particular instance.

The book provides checklists and forms at the end of most chapters that can be used or adapted for your community and it provides a website where the reader can go for even more resources or to download the forms and checklists -www.energizingentrepreneurs.org.

I also like that the writers do not pull any punches. They continually remind the reader that all of this is hard work and can only be accomplished over many years with persistence, widespread community involvement and adequate capital.

This is as close to a "How To" book as I have found on the subject of rural entrepreneurial development. I hope you get as much out of it as I did.

Book Review of "Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development, Edited by Norman Walzer

I just completed reading "Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development", edited by Norman Walzer, published by Lexington Books, copyright 2007. Each chapter written by different authors or set of authors.

I think the book is really a bit mis-titled. A better title might be Entrepreneurship and Rural Economic Development as the book really focus on what rural communities can do to spur entrepreneurship. The book interested me because I am in the heart of Iowa where many of my clients are rural communities or regions. I may have been disappointed had I purchased this book and were an economic development professional in Chicago, New York or Los Angeles.

The book is really a combination of empirical analysis/rural entrepreneurial strategies and case stuidies. I found it extremely useful, if a bit dated. The book was written in 2007, really not that long ago but given that the whole social media industry has blossomed since then it's difficult to stay current. Several of the authors are associated with the Rural Policy Research Intitute's (RUPRI)Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, whose website www.energizingentrepreneurs.org keeps current on such topics.

I would recommend this reading for any economic development professional, local elected official or community leader in all but perhaps the 50-100 largest cities in the U.S. It is extremely comprehensive, makes a great case for entrepreneurship as "The" economic development strategy.It shows the reader how the strategy can work and where it has been successful.

It also emphasizes a regional approach to entrepreneurial development which I belive is the only way to create critical mass in rural areas. The case study of Appalachian Ohio is a great illustration of how one of the poorest areas in the nation can turn things around! It really shows that any region, with the right strategy, leadership and focus can move their economy into the 21st century.

Have any of you read the book? I'd love to hear what you think.

I am currently reading another book by some of the same authors, "Energizing Entrepreneurs, Charting a Course for Rural Communities by Deborah Markley, Don Macke and Vicki B. Luther. Published in 2005, this book is just slightly older than, "Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development." It is a bit shorter and seems to be more of a how to guide with case studies to provide credibility. I'll let you know what I think when I'm finished reading it.