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.

What Not to do When Using Social Media for Business or Profession

There are certain things that should be left for your personal life. If you are using social media simply for social purposes and your still in school, retired or independently wealthy this article does not apply to you. Otherwise, listen up!

1. Stay away from Discussing Political Issues:

If you have connected with me on a social media site through our common interest in business then you should not discuss politics. I see this in normal conversation, as well. There is an assumption that if one is in the same business or profession one also shares the same political beliefs. This could be no farther from the truth. People that know me well know that my views on one topic can be on one end of the spectrum and on another it can be at the other end. Very few people have the exact political views as you.

I believe business is business and usually do not let someone's political beliefs cloud my decision as whether or not to engage in business with them. There has been that exception where someone seems to be unbalanced to the point where I believe it will cloud business decisions, however.

Many other people are turned off by anyone who holds different beliefs. There have been numerous times people have told me something to the effect of, "I won't do business with that right wing ... or left wing .... " Why take the chance? Leave politics out of it.

It's fine to let people know your a Democrat or Republican or to follow your favorite candidates but don't get in my face about controversial issues. In otherwords, don't be a zealot and expect that it won't hurt business.

2. Don't Play Games With Me:

Are you serious about running your business or about your profession? If you hooked up with me to obtain business advise then don't ask me about Farmville, the Mafia or your virtual garden. I'm amazed at the number of so called entrepreneurs that seem to have so much time for such foolishness.

I have the utmost respect for most people that work in government. My first 15 years of professional life was in state and local government, but there are many out there that have disdain for government employees. That's why I was aghast at one such employee who during office hours would continually update me on their farm, gemstones or garden. What message does this send? Are they working or playing?

I don't care if you want to play these social games but if you are trying to impress me with your work ethic or if your profession is publicly srutinized, don't do it during office hours and don't clutter my "Notifications" site with eggs, vegetables and gemstones that you have gifted to me.

3. Don't Burn Bridges:

I have seen people harangue about their former employer or boss ad nauseum on Facebook. I'm sure the feeling is, "I'm out of there what can it hurt?" Well how many people that read your posts are still connected with that company or boss? What does your current employer think about it? If you trash your former employer what are you saying about your current one or what will you say when you eventually leave?

The other part of bad mouthing anyone publicly is that it just generally reflects badly on the person doing it. I, and probably many others feel it demonstrates, pettiness and a lack of maturity. This is better left in a private conversation with your best friend, sibling or parent.

4. Do Let me Know Appropriate Feelings and Special Events:

Social media is, after all meant to be social. I know there are business people out there that have no time for your children's pictures, birthday parties or your mood. My feeling is that this is an opportunity to get to know those I conduct business with on a deeper level and the more you know about a customer, supplier or business partner the better you can serve them.

Of course, by now everyone should know that there are inappropriate personal things I should not know about my business associates. Keep those to yourself please!

The entire time I was writing this article, it seemed I was missing a "Don't" that I wanted to include. I imagine over the next few months I may discover others. Do you have some "Don'ts" that I missed? Let all of us know by commenting below.

Is It Time for Economic Development to Move On?

I was sitting at an economic development conference recently listening to the speaker talk about business climate in terms of incentives to recruit or retain businesses, cost of labor and tax structure. His conclusion was that five states in the Southeast United States and another five in the Great Plains/Mountain region were the most “Pro Business.” But when one looks at these states there seemed to be no clear correlation between these states and economic growth. It wasn’t that there was a negative correlation. Some of the states were growing faster than the national average and incomes were quite respectable but others were not. Certainly there were states that were doing better even though some of the states had landed on the top ten for five years running!

Two things hit me. Why should a state strive to be “pro business? Isn’t it better to be “pro” economic growth? Aren’t businesses just a vehicle to attain this growth? When we think in terms of “pro business we lose sight of what it is we are really trying to achieve. When we think of things in terms of pro business others get hurt. Tax credits get abused, Enron pops up or the environment suffers.

My second thought was, “pro” what business? For decades we have known that incentives to one business can be damaging to another. We also know that a tax code that may be advantageous to large corporations can place a burden on small businesses. In fact, study after study has shown that large incentive packages to select businesses have little or no impact on the long term economic growth of a state or region. It may have a significant local impact but is that what we really maters?

What we do know is that the vast majority of new jobs created in the United States are created by companies with less than ten employees and with companies that are less than ten years old. We also know that as technology and the service industries have become dominant in the U.S., traditional economic development practices have become less effective. Land and building costs, tax structure and infrastructure costs have given way to access to capital, educational services and quality of life.

In the past, it was thought that while new businesses accounted for most jobs, there was little an area could do to affect the formation and growth of these businesses. In the past decade or two this has changed dramatically and we know that states and regions that have emphasized this have grown at a much faster rate than those that have not. In fact, some of the states that have recently moved off the “Top Ten Pro Business” list referred to above, have done so intentionally, deciding instead to emphasize entrepreneurial growth.

During the recent economic downturn many economic development professionals tried to move toward assistance to entrepreneurs. In most cases, this has been ineffective because the ground work was not completed first, adequate financial resources were not provided and the economic development professionals did not have the proper training to deal with the entrepreneur.

Why has it taken so long, especially in certain areas of the country for the economic development community to adopt a new paradigm? It has been widely accepted for years that the old model was out dated. First of all, it is easy to keep doing what is comfortable, especially if every few months one can hold out the possibility of a big plant opening, how ever remote. Secondly, there are limited resources. To implement an entrepreneurial growth strategy resources must be re-directed from traditional economic development to the new strategy. Those that have taken advantage of the old system have fought this tooth and nail.

Finally, and probably most importantly, entrepreneurial development is a long term strategy. It’s kind of like using your farm system in baseball as opposed to trading for players, or waiting for underclassmen to mature in a college athletic program instead of brining in junior college transfers. One has at least the allure of a quick fix while the other is more sustainable.

Is it time for economic development to move on - To move from a 1960’s model to a 21st century model. I believe it is. What do you think?

99 Amazing Reasons to Be an Entrepreneur Right Now

99 Amazing Reasons to Be an Entrepreneur Right Now

Pediatrician Mom Creates Innovative Children

Pediatrician Mom Creates Innovative Children’s Learning Tool

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The Daffodil Principal

This article is being reprinted with permission by the author, Mary Dee Freeman. If you like it, you may wish to read more by Mary. She publishes a newsletter entitled, "WOW-ZINE" at: http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1410292681.

The Daffodil Principle

Hi Everyone,

I was talking to a client the other day. She was frustrated because her business wasn’t growing as quickly as she wanted. I hear it a lot. Many people think that if things aren’t going their way, there’s something wrong with them.

It’s not their fault. It’s the way we live. Our society is one of instant gratification. We have drive thru everything; instant downloads on the internet and the list goes on. We are taught from birth that we should get whatever we want when we want it.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that we are so blessed in the United States. The negative side of such a successful society is if we don’t succeed the way we think we’re supposed to, we think there must be something wrong with us.

It’s just not true. That’s where the Daffodil Principle comes in. I don’t know where this story came from and I’ve edited for brevity. I hope the original author doesn’t mind as it’s one of my favorites. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come see the daffodils before they are over.” I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and raining. Still, I promised, so I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house, I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!”

My daughter smiled and said, “I was hoping you’d take me over to the garage to pick up my car. It’s just a few blocks. I’ll drive, I’m used to this.”

After several minutes in the car, I had to ask, “Where are we going? This isn’t the way to the garage.”

“We’re going to my garage the long way,” Carolyn smiled, “by way of the daffodils.”

“Carolyn,” I said sternly, “please turn around.”

“It’s alright, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a church. On the far side of the church, there was a hand lettered sign that read, “Daffodil Garden”. We got out of the car and I took each child’s hand as I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner and I looked up and gasped… before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as if someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peaks and slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns… great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.

There were five acres of flowers!

“But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn.

“It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “She lives on the property. That’s her home.” She pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory.

We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster Answers To The Questions I Know You Are Asking was the headline. The first answer was simple, “50,000 bulbs”, it read. The second answer was, “one at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet and very little brain.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”

There it was, The Daffodil Principle. For me that was a life changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun one bulb at a time to bring her vision and beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop.

This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived just planting one bulb at a time, year after year. She had created something of indescribable magnificence, beauty and inspiration.

“It makes me sad in a way,” I admitted to Carolyn. “What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and worked at it ‘one bulb at a time’ through all those years. Just think of what I might have achieved!”

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. “Start tomorrow.”

The principle the daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time, often one baby-step at a time… and learning to love the doing, using the accumulation of time.