Community Development
through Entrepreneurship:
Building Entrepreneurial Communities
Presentation by:
Tammy Werner, Program Coordinator
Kentucky Entrepreneurial Coaches
Institute (KECI)
19 Counties in NE Kentucky
• The Economic
Landscape in Rural
Northeastern
Kentucky:
– Decline in “old”
economy industries
– Phasing out of #1
crop: burley tobacco
quota reduced approx.
60% between 1997
and 2000
• The Kentucky
Entrepreneurial Coaches
Institute (KECI)
• Objectives:
– Encourage the diversification of
the economies in the 19 county
region
– Stimulate small business startups and expansions
– Provide local citizens the tools
they need to become community
coaches.
– Strengthen community groups &
institutions and their
receptiveness to entrepreneurs
(Funded by the Kentucky Agricultural
Development Board)
– What is “the state of
entrepreneurship” in
the region?
• Qualitative Data
• Quantitative Data
•
Research Process
Focus Groups and County
Council Meetings:
Met with approximately
400 people in all 19
counties; 38 county visits
Focus groups included:
farmers, business people,
members of chamber of
commerce, extension,
school system, local govt.
Secondary Economic Data:
Sole Proprietor Data
ES 202 Data
(unemployment insurance)
The State of Entrepreneurship – Summary:
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Entrepreneurship in the region lags behind the
national benchmark
A critical mass of entrepreneurs is lacking in the
region
The availability of and quality of youth
entrepreneurship programs varies across the region
Access to entrepreneurial education and training is
quite limited
Access to capital is a concern
New markets and new crops are needed to diversify
away from tobacco
Focus Group Findings
Out-migration of youth
“we’ve always exported our finest minds”
An uncertain economic future
“its hard to get away from the security we had with tobacco. It
may not have been much, but it was something.”
De-industrialization: Feeling the effects
(Reference to manufactured products) How the hell are we going
to continue to send our jobs south… and expect people here
without jobs to buy them?”
The Psychology of economic uncertainty
“It set us back quite a bit.”
Exurbanization: Back to the land?
(rural youth spend) “the first half of your life trying to get out, the
second half trying to return”
Agricultural Entrepreneurship:
Possibilities and Current Limitations
“Until you change the marketing situation
you’re going to shoot yourself in the foot”
Current Diversification Activities:
Livestock
Improving quality of herds;
Small herds of goats;
Pleasure horse industry
Game Farms
Crops
Vegetable production
Orchards, grapes, berries
Concerns:
Lack of marketing skills;
Fear of risk;
Part-time farming= less time to explore
new markets/crops
The Promise of Entrepreneurship:
• Regional examples of creative
entrepreneurs:
Potential for creating an
industry?
The Via Ferrata (Wolfe
County)
Using what you’ve got
Nutrition Farm (Wolfe County)
Manufacturing in the Mountains
The Via Ferrata
Nutrition Farm
• Traditional Development
Approaches:
– Industrial Recruitment
– Business Retention and
Expansion
• Riding the Entrepreneurial
Wave:
– Entrepreneurship focuses on
nurturing entrepreneurial activity
at the local level
– Tends to involve local civic
organizations; more diverse
leadership; loyalty to local
community; often more highly
skilled (though fewer) jobs
• Current Economic
Development Policies:
Focus on Industrial
Recruitment:
– Industrial Development
Authorities
– Small Business
Development Centers
– State Tax and Loan
Incentive Programs
– But – relatively little
support for entrepreneurs
An Entrepreneurial Coach:
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values local knowledge
respects the individual
is supportive
asks the tough questions
brings out the best in
people
helps entrepreneurs find
creative solutions
clarifies individual and
community
visions/directions
has a holistic viewembraces the whole person
(community)
is action-oriented
is proactive rather than
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What are the characteristics of entrepreneurial
communities?
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a critical mass of entrepreneurs
a distinct & recognizable network of entrepreneurs
a focus on entrepreneurship is reflected in the actions of the
community:
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youth entrepreneurship programs
entrepreneurship education & training
access to capital
entrepreneurial coaches or facilitators in the community
Leadership Program: Seminars
• Two leadership classes of entrepreneurial
coaches
– 30 leadership coaches in each class
– 1st class: Sept 2004-January 2006
– 2nd class: Sept 2005 – January 2007
– Those selected receive a Kentucky
Entrepreneurial Coaches Institute Fellowship
valued at $18,000, which covers seminar &
international travel expenses
– Seminars (2-3 days each) will be held across
the Region (with the exception of one
international seminar)
Leadership Program Curriculum
– Coaching skills: individual and community
coaching; listening skills; asking good questions;
goal setting
– Entrepreneurship: What does it take? What is an
entrepreneur? How do you identify E-potential?
How do you nurture entrepreneurs?
– Understanding your community: Where are we?
Where do we want to go? Community assessment
tools such as interviewing, asset mapping, gap
analysis
– Marketing/communication/engagement
– Resource Providers: Who are they? Where are
they? How does it all work?
– Building networks/engaging the community
The Community’s Role:
• Work with the Coaches in your region – for example, during
the community assessment, or answering questions the
Coach may ask
• Let us know about entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs
in your county – both agricultural entrepreneurs and those
from non-agricultural sector.
– Why?
– We want to showcase local entrepreneurs at the
seminars to show people in the communities as well as the
Coaches the kinds of creative ideas and activities that are
already evident in the region.
- We want to encourage community residents with
business ideas to work with our coaches as they go
through the training.
Anticipated Outcomes:
• Creation of an entrepreneurial network
• Expanded imagination about the potential of
entrepreneurship
• Ability to use coaching skills (i.e., asking challenging
questions; helping others to set goals)
• Create new self-identity as "entrepreneurial coaches" - not just a teacher, banker or farmer
• Deepen their understanding about nurturing
entrepreneurs
• Expanded outreach capacity
and this will lead to:
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more entrepreneurial support activity in
counties and region;
more outreach-focused entrepreneurs;
self-sustaining entrepreneurial network
stronger entrepreneurial communities
and, over the long term - more
sustainable rural communities