Stimulating Entrepreneurship in
Resource Dependent
Communities
Eric Scorsone
Ron Hustedde
Larry Jones
Cooperative Extension Service
University of Kentucky
The Setting


KY Tobacco cash receipts have declined from $1
billion to $500-600 million
Nearly 45,000 of Kentucky’s 85,000 farms
produce tobacco


Tobacco Settlement money



In northeast KY, 75% of farms are tobacco dependent
50% designated to agricultural diversification
$60 million for 20 years
Tobacco buyout has been proposed and end of
federal tobacco marketing system
Problem Statement


Tobacco dependent counties have not, up to now,
needed entrepreneurial farmers or communities
Traditional entrepreneurial support mechanisms




Financing
Technical Assistance (Small Bus. Dev Center)
Traditional support system is not geared towards
tobacco farmers and rural communities
New support mechanisms are needed
Our hypotheses for working in tobacco
dependent counties:

Economic development has to come from within the region

We have to improve the environment and culture in tobacco
dependent counties for entrepreneurs to emerge;

Local entrepreneurial coaches and facilitators are important in
order to strengthen an entrepreneurial culture;

If you strengthen the knowledge, skills, imagination, attitudes and
networking of entrepreneurial coaches, it will lead to more
entrepreneurial events and more business starts

If you nurture and train local entrepreneurial coaches and turn them
loose, they will become self-sustaining.
Program Mission Statement

Kentucky Entrepreneurial Coaches Institute (KECI)

This is an entrepreneurship leadership program

“A program designed to stimulate economic
diversification and the entrepreneurial culture of 19
tobacco dependent counties in Northeast Kentucky”
Farm Diversification Survey


Surveyed 2,500 farmers in 19 counties of
Northeast Kentucky (40% rate)
24% report some diversification in last three
years



Consistent with reports from USDA Agricultural Census
Intention to diversify next year indicates little
change in numbers
Enterprises include: vegetables, goats,
agritourism, direct marketing
Who are Entrepreneurial Coaches?

Coaches:


Leaders in their communities who will support entrepreneurs
and build a culture that is entrepreneurship friendly
Coaches can be:







Chamber of Commerce Directors
Bankers, Lawyers, Accountants
High School teachers
Extension agents
Retirees
Others…….
Anyone interested in the process of counseling and
assisting local entrepreneurs
Coaching is:










supportive,
questioning,
encouraging,
about helping people to solve problems;
clarifying individual and community visions/directions;
holistic; embraces the whole person (community)
helps people to set goals and deadlines,
action-oriented,
change,
proactive relationship
Coaches do:

Nurture and encourage entrepreneurs in a variety
of activities including:






Idea generation
Business Planning
Financing
Team Building
Marketing
Assist local communities in stimulating
entrepreneurial climate and culture



School curriculum activities
Local entrepreneurial fairs or centers
Marketing the benefits of entrepreneurship to the
community
Coaches do:

Networking and brokering


Resource Facilitator


Connect entrepreneurs to people
Connect to SBDC and other technical and financial
assistance
Industry Content and Trends

Knowledgeable of industry trends and opportunities

Psychology and Self-Awareness

Community Support and Climate
Coaching is not:



teaching,
telling people what to do,
pushing personal agendas on others
Coaches do not:

Conflict with existing business service providers


Provide Business Financing


At the appropriate time, coaches feed entrepreneurs into
SBDC system or other provider systems
Coaches direct entrepreneurs to appropriate bank or
financial institutions or other private investors
Manage Businesses

Coaches help entrepreneurs find resource providers or
build management teams
Leadership Program: Classes

Two classes of entrepreneurial coaches trained




Coaches must apply to program (June 2004, 2005)



30 coaches in each class
1st class: Sept 2004-August 2005
2nd class: Sept 2005 – August 2006
program selection committee is KY Agricultural
Development Board, Entrepreneurship Committee
Classes meet monthly (2 days a month)
Class participates in international trip
Some Key Trends in Leadership
programs:
1)
Leadership programs are growing in popularity
because of their need and impact in shaping
community life;
2) Personal, business and executive coaching is a
new and growing profession because it helps
people to solve problems, meet challenges,
reach goals and focus and achieve results more
quickly.
Anticipated products:








their entrepreneurial support network;
imagination about entrepreneurship potentials;
coaching skills (i.e., asking challenging questions; helping
others to set goals)
their self-identity as "entrepreneurial coaches" -- not just a
teacher, banker or farmer.
their understanding about nurturing entrepreneurs (ie. best
practices; sensitivity to youth, women)
technical skills
outreach capacity --- minimum outreach of 50 per year
reflection on what it means to be an entrepreneurial coach -lessons learned
and this will lead to:




more entrepreneurial support activity in
counties and region;
more outreach-focused entrepreneurs;
self-sustaining entrepreneurial support group
new sense of regional identity and cooperation
(not just one county versus another).
Coaching Curriculum I



Seminar 1: Creativity and Idea Generation (Jay
Kane)
Seminar 2: Visiting an Entrepreneurial Community
(Athens, Ohio)
Seminar 3: Entrepreneurial Coaching



Seminar leaders from Scotland’s Hunter Center for
Entrep. University of Strathclyde
Seminar 4: Meeting other entrepreneurship support
providers
Seminar 5: Where are the Markets: New Trends in
the Regional, National and Global Markets
Coaching Curriculum II


Seminar 6: Building entrepreneurial capacity
Seminar 7: Envisioning a new entrepreneurial
support system (Trip to rural Scotland)


Working with Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and
Islands Enterprise, John Bryden (University of the
Highlands) and many others
Seminar 8: Bringing it all together
Long Term Sustainability




Coaches will be able to maintain membership and
network through a Entrepreneurial Coaches Alumni
Network and annual meetings
Coaches will participate in activities with other
entrepreneurship support providers
Goal is to secure finding for statewide and continued
training via KY Agricultural Development Board
Extension agents will also be able to participate in
training in future
What will it take to do this in my
community?

Strong Community Buy-in

Community and business leaders should be committed to
supporting project



In-kind And monetary support
Program marketing assistance (nominating candidates)
An issue that is driving the need for changing in the
community or region



Traditional industry or agricultural decline
Community dissatisfaction with status quo
Internal social or demographic changes in community
What you need?.....

A little or lot of money

Program is flexible and can be run on a variety of
budgets




National or regional speakers (speaker fees) or conduct
in-house training
Field trips?
Overnight or one day seminars (lodging and food
expenses)
Transportation to and from seminar sites
What you need?....

Seminar Participants and Selection Process



Key part of conducting coaching program
Need a strong and widespread marketing campaign
to generate interest
Selection committee




Should consist of neutral set of selectors to avoid
political or personal conflict of interest
Good excuse for why someone wasn’t selected
Diverse candidate background
Committed candidates
What’s available?



Coaching curriculum is being developed by
Kentucky team and available for others to use
Center for Rural Entrepreneurship and others
are aware of coaching concept and willing to
assist
In the future , a process and outcome
evaluation will be available