Shifting Blogs

Further comments on this blog are welcome, but all posts will now be on:

http://nauvoocommuter.blogspot.com/

in the future.

Rural Business Networks

The success of government programs to encourage rural entrepreneurship is limited. They are not very effectual. (The Rural Entrepreneurship Mission is now researching to see if "effectual" is an actual word used properly in the context.)

Business networks are difficult to create, but the following research article is an excellent source of knowledge on the subject.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122313306/HTMLSTART?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

It is quite academic, but thorough.

Fairfield, Iowa

Fairfield, Iowa, is an entrepreneurial mecca.

Last Wednesday, the Rural Entrepreneurship Mission visited Fairfield, and town with a population of less than 10,000 people. It provided a treasure chest of knowledge. We visited several local businesses and met with community leaders who had been key in developing Fairfield into what it is, the homecoming queen of small entrepreneurship towns.

The city may not have what I would call a system, but they have successfully developed a platform combining entrepreneurship organizations, a university that brings in fascinating people that would otherwise overlook such a small town, and the creativity that comes from a art-focused community.

One interesting resident is Burt Chojnowski, a recognized thought leader in community entreprenurial development. Check out http://www.brainbelt.com to see his consulting firm's site.

Success Story

Check out the Alexis Fire Equipment Company. The town of Alexis is so small that a person wanting to turn and face the other direction has to leave the town boundaries to make the adjustment. But this town's biggest company builds fire engines and ambulatory vehicles for cities throughout the U.S. and even overseas.

Profit margins remain in the single digits, but the goal is long-term viability. Hey, their profits are higher than Facebook! See www.alexisfire.com.

Seeking Businesses for study

We want to help your business.

The goal of the Rural Entrepreneur Mission (REM) is to advise hopeful entrepreneurs in the rural midwestern U.S. In the next stage, we would like to speak with founders of both successful and new businesses to learn about them. No money will change hands. Here is how we can help you, dear entrepreneur:

1- build other businesses in the region, which can synergize with your business as those businesses build

2- provide publicity for your business, as your story is published

3- swap ideas with you

If you own a business in the countryside of the Midwest, or if you know such a person, please contact us. We have NO interest in pilfering competitive information, wasting your time, or betraying confidences.

---------------

Brock Stout earned a Masters in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in 1995. Since then, he has been helping American companies to succeed in Asian markets. Now he is spending part of his time creating a framework for economic development of the American Heartland. He hopes you will contact him through this website.