| Creating a “Nutrient-Rich”
Business Environment in Rural Communities
By Sheila Finkenbinder , Workforce Development
Center/Sitka Business Incubator Project, Alaska
Rural communities across America are struggling
to survive in the face of a changing national economy. Depending
on the location, painful changes have come about as resource-based
industries such as logging, fishing, and mining have closed down
and small family farms have given way to agra-businesses. The
result is a diverse range of rural communities that are suffering
from either a high rate of unemployment or a significant loss
of population, especially working-age adults with growing families.
Dealing with these set-backs and maintaining viable and vibrant
communities has become a priority issue for those of us living
in these rural, often isolated, towns and villages.
Often the knee-jerk reaction in many communities
is a massive recruitment effort based on the belief that city
planners need only attract new industries to locate, or relocate,
to their town. Major marketing campaigns are conducted on the
premise that there are business owners in other locations who
will see the value in establishing their existing or planned business
in a town that is no longer the vibrant place it once was.
But, guess what? While city fathers are attempting
to recruit big businesses to relocate
to their town, the very people who have what it takes to start
and operate local enterprises are already there. Every community
already has people with ideas and the abilities to start small
businesses. True economic development
comes from capturing the energy, imagination, intelligence, and
passion of these people. In the last fifteen to twenty years,
small individual enterprises have created the majority of new
jobs in this economy. Many of the people who are creating those
enterprises have been living in small communities for years, have
families, and have no plans to leave.
Nurturing Businesses
So, how do you help these people—your neighbors—to
start the businesses that will revitalize your town? You do it
by acting as a gardener, by building an environment that is so
rich in the ingredients necessary for business growth that once
the seeds are sown businesses will seemingly spring up out of
nowhere.
I like to compare the capacity for business growth
and development in a community to the carrying capacity of wildlife
species in the natural areas that surround us. When management
officials want to increase the numbers of a certain species of
animal in an area, there is only one way to accomplish the task.
And that is to improve the quality of the habitat where the animals
live, including their food, water, shelter, space, and the way
it is all arranged. Clean out the streams; thin out the forest;
plant more trees; do whatever it takes to encourage more births,
longer and healthier lives, and the resulting growth in the wildlife
population.
The Sitka Business Incubator Project (SBI) has
been operating for two years now, with a mission of accelerating
the growth and development of small and emerging businesses
in Sitka, Alaska. Those of us who have been working on the project
don’t have business degrees, but we do have confidence that
the people in this community have what it takes to build and operate
businesses that will strengthen our local economy, if they are
provided with the necessary nourishment
and encouragement. Here are some of the things we’ve been
offering to help enrich the environment and make it easier for
budding entrepreneurs to take the first steps:
• Professional office/meeting space available
to all SBI members, including:
• computers with internet access,
• workspace,
• copier,
• scanner,
• phones and fax,
• tables and chairs,
• TV/VCR,
• overhead projector,
• flip charts and white board.
• Education on topics essential to business
growth, through workshops led by staff, local business people,
and outside experts. Almost 100% of the people who have conducted
our workshops have done so on a purely volunteer basis.
• Training for small and emerging entrepreneurs
in the essential steps to planning, starting and operating a small
business through extended (8-10 week) classes based on recognized
small business materials. (We have used both the FastTrac™
curriculum and the New American Business System.)
• Access to the services of the Juneau
Small Business Development Center and the Alaska Manufacturers
Association (located in Anchorage). We coordinate with the directors
of these organizations so that they can come to Sitka periodically
to conduct workshops and/or one-on-one counseling sessions.
• Access to a group of local service providers
who are interested in helping to build a nutrient-rich
environment for small business development in Sitka, and who provide
training, consulting, and/or reduced rates for their services.
Our Business Resource Guide lists all the service providers in
our community, along with a description of the focus of their
services.
• Help with feasibility studies and/or
business plans. Clients can choose the level of complexity of
their plan and the level of help they would like to receive.
• Opportunities for SBI members and other
entrepreneurs to network with each other in order to share their
ideas, questions, and expertise.
• Opportunities to sell locally manufactured
products through a professionally run trade show that is open
to both wholesale and retail buyers from Sitka and surrounding
communities.
• An informational website, offering locally
relevant small business information and links to a broader universe
of small business resources. Our site includes a Checklist
for Starting a Business in Sitka, which is also available
on paper for walk-ins.
• A clearinghouse for information and
ideas pertaining to small business development in Sitka. The public
can come in anytime to receive any of the following services:
• Business advice
• Paperwork (applications for business license, sales tax,
EIN, etc)
• Hands-on help with business cards, invoices, etc. (some
fees involved)
• Referrals to outside experts (attorneys, accountants,
etc.)
• Reality checks
RESEED
Part of what has helped us reach out to all members
of the community has been the training we’ve received from
Cary Griffin and David Hammis, of the Rural Institute at the University
of Montana. For the past year, Sitka has been part of a project
called Rural Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment
Expansion Design (RESEED), which brought Cary and David
here five times for extensive workshops and hands-on technical
assistance with real clients. What we learned from their training
has helped us understand that many people with disabilities in
Sitka are in possession of untapped talents and energy, and that
we can be helping them find meaningful employment.
As we come to a greater understanding of the
tools that are available for supported employment and self-employment,
we will be greatly expanding the types of services we’re
able to offer. We are convinced that for many people, even those
who may not be seen as “entrepreneurs,” self-employment
is a viable option that can help them achieve a level of self-sufficiency
that would otherwise not be possible.
The economic benefits of our efforts at building
a nutrient-rich business environment
in Sitka have included twenty-four (24) new full-time equivalent
jobs created by member businesses during our first year of operation.
The number of non-members who have also benefitted from our gardening/nurturing
technique far surpasses the few who have become SBI members. The
Sitka Business Incubator Project is becoming an important local
source for business advice, information, resources, referrals,
education, training, and networking.
Sitka’s history reveals a long-term dependence
on natural resources, all the way back to when it was the capital
of Russian America. As part of the country’s “last
frontier,” it is experiencing the pains that come from change,
moving from a resource-based economy to one that is more diverse.
Every area of the country has its own history, its own problems
and its own strengths. The talents and capabilities for rebuilding
local communities may be hidden from view, but as the essential
nutrients are introduced into the
environment the dreams of local individuals can become viable,
healthy enterprises. Business Incubators, Small Business Development
Centers, or other economic development organizations in rural
communities can, through a little coordination of effort and the
right attitude, build “nutrient-rich” business environments
that will strengthen and diversify their region’s economy
during difficult times.
Contact Information
Sheila Finkenbinder, Director
Workforce Development Center/Sitka Business Incubator Project
303 Lincoln St., Ste., Sitka, AK 99835
(907) 966-3066
work@alaska.com
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