Center for Rural Entrepreneurship – A Rural Policy Research Institute National Research and Policy Center

Welcome to Rural Entrepreneurship News – the monthly electronic newsletter of the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, a RUPRI national research and policy center with founding support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

The Appalachian Regional Commission is a contributing partner to this newsletter. Rural Entrepreneurship News summarizes developments in the field of rural entrepreneurship. We welcome your suggestions and questions.

Rural Entrepreneurship News is available free of charge. To obtain information on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and to review present and past issues of Rural Entrepreneurship news, simply click on the following link http://www.ruraleship.org/index_html?page=content/ruralenews.htm .

In This Newsletter:

1. Breaking News
2. Trainings and Conferences
3. From the Field
4. New on the Web

BREAKING NEWS

National Content Standards for Entrepreneurship Education Toolkit

The Toolkit for the National Content Standards for Entrepreneurship Education is designed to give you the standards and Performance Indicators framework necessary for developing curriculum for entrepreneurship programs as a lifelong learning process.

Along with the standards, the Toolkit contains background information on Entrepreneurship Education and the Lifelong Learning Model for Entrepreneurship Education, sample applications of the standards, and information about the research used to develop the standards. The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education (www.entre-ed.org) asked entrepreneurs throughout the United States to tell them "what they do as an entrepreneur and what they needed to know to do it." For more information on the toolkit, go to http://www.entre-ed.org/Standards_Toolkit/.

Help for Microenterprise Practitioners

Following up on the release of its new publication, Opening Opportunities, Building Ownership: Fulfilling the Promise of Microenterprise in the United States, FIELD has produced a new kit designed to help practitioners begin tackling some of the ideas described in the report. Fulfilling the Promise: An Action Planning Kit for Practitioners can help organizations reflect on the challenges they face, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and begin formulating actions for a stronger future. The kit includes: a brief "Guide for Board and Staff" that outlines an action planning process, a CD-ROM containing a PowerPoint presentation designed to spark conversation between board and staff, and other helpful materials. To learn more about the kit, go to http://fieldus.org/li/ActionPlanningKit.htm.

From NDE-news for October 17-21, 2005 (www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde)

Hot Shot Business, an award-winning online entrepreneurship simulation, has been enhanced to give players an even more realistic and challenging taste of what it takes to start and run a business. Jointly developed by the entrepreneurship experts at the Kauffman Foundation and Disney Online’s creative team, the simulation blends fast-paced game play with real-world lessons to teach children ages 9 to 12, entrepreneurship concepts and skills. The simulation welcomes kids to “Opportunity City,” where animated teen characters Kate and Jack help players recognize and act on business opportunities to meet the citizens’ needs. Enhancements launched this month include a new type of business (the candy store) and a series of ethical dilemmas that kids must address as well as a formalized teacher curriculum to adopt Hot Shot Business into the classroom. The Hot Shot Business simulation is available at http://www.hotshotbusiness.com .

More from NDE-news for October 17-21, 2005 (www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde)

Rising health care costs hit all Americans and all American companies in the pocketbook, but microenterprises (with less than 10 workers) are among the most hard-hit. A new survey from the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) tells the depressing story. NASE surveyed more than 600 small business owners to assess how they deal with rising health care costs. The survey found that a majority of surveyed firms (51.1%) of firms do not now offer and do not plan to offer health care coverage for themselves or their employees. Cost is the primary inhibiting factor, and, not surprisingly, the smallest firms are most affected by these costs. Firms with less than ten employees spend roughly 4% of total gross revenue on health care. Sadly, the situation may be getting worse. Eighty-five percent of respondents noted that their health care premiums had jumped in the past year, with a median increase of a whopping 17.3%. To view the September 2005 report, Health Coverage and the Micro-Business: A National Perspective, from the National Association for the Self-Employed, visit http://news.nase.org/pdf/NASE_Healthcare.pdf.

2006 Innovator Awards Nominations

Southern Growth Policies Board is seeking nominations for the 2006 Innovator Awards. Each year, Southern Growth Policies Board honors innovative Southern initiatives that are improving the quality of life in the region. The 2006 Innovator Awards will be chosen in the context of the Southern Innovation Initiative – a year-long series of events that focuses on the importance of Innovation to the South’s economy. Deadline for nominations is November 23, 2005. Nominations are open to the public. An outside evaluation panel will choose one innovator from each Southern Growth member state for this award. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and Southern Growth Policies Board will present the awards at the opening session of the Southern Innovation Summit conference that will take place on June 4-6, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana. To learn more about criteria for nominations, go to http://www.southern.org/main/innovators/innovators.shtml. For specific questions regarding potential nominees, please contact Charity Pennock at [email protected] or 919-941-5145. For more information on Southern Growth Policies Board, visit http://www.southern.org.

Call for Session Proposals for NBIA Conference

The National Business Incubation Association is soliciting session proposals for the 20th International Conference on Business Incubation, April 30 – May 3, 2006, in St. Louis. This event is the largest incubation conference in the world, with more than 600 industry professionals expected from all parts of the globe. Don’t miss your chance to share your incubation skills and insights by making a presentation during one of the more than 60 sessions to be held during this information-packed event. Submit your proposal now – the Oct. 28 deadline is quickly approaching. Visit the NBIA Web site at http://www.nbia.org/nbia_events/session_proposals/index.php and complete the online form. If you have any questions, please contact NBIA at [email protected] or (740) 593-4331.

TRAININGS AND CONFERENCES (new items are highlighted)

* Prairie Rural Action, November 14-15, 2005 at the Fargo Civic Center. Organizations and individuals throughout the Great Plains are joining together as Prairie Rural Action to promote new nonpartisan approaches and policies for revitalizing rural communities. For more information, go to http://www.prairieruralaction.org/.

* Save the Date! The 17th Annual Marketplace for Entrepreneurs will be held January 17-18, 2006 in Fargo, ND. Marketplace offers participants a variety of workshops and exhibits related to starting a business, entrepreneurship, finding funding, inventions, etc. More information can be found at http://www.MarketplaceOfIdeas.org.

* Value-Added Food Processing Training. The Nebraska Food Processing Center is one of the leading entrepreneur assistance programs in the country. For a number of years the Center has offered its great course “From Recipe to Reality.” This course will be available nationally in 2006 in the following places: Lincoln NE – January 20, March 18, May 22, August 18 & October 30; St. Paul MN – April 11; Chicago IL – August 11. For more information contact Jill Gifford at [email protected] or 402.472.2819.

* Save the Date! 2006 National Community Reinvestment Conference will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 19-22, 2006. Registration materials will be available in early January. Please subscribe to our mailing list at http://www.frbsf.org/community/resources/subscription.html if you’d like materials to be sent to you when they become available. Please contact Lauren Mercado-Briosos at [email protected], or by phone at 415.974.2765, with any questions.

* Save the Date! AEO 2006 Annual Conference, Microenterprise Development: From Dreams to Reality, will be held in Atlanta, GA on May 16-19, 2006. For more information, go to http://www.microenterpriseworks.org/conferences/aeo2006/index.htm .

FROM THE FIELD

The following information highlights the Center’s active engagement with practitioners, communities and states across the United States. For more information, contact Don Macke at [email protected].

Illinois. The first Entrepreneurial Summit was held in the southwestern Illinois region on October 20, 2005. The summit was designed to examine the current climate in southwestern Illinois and identify what is needed for entrepreneurship to flourish there. The Entrepreneurial Summit was the result of a collaboration between the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) (Opportunity Returns), Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, Madison-Bond Workforce Investment Board, Madison County, Mid America Workforce Investment Board, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southwestern Illinois Entrepreneur Center, St. Clair County, the Tri-City Regional Port District and River’s Edge Enterprise Center, and "Workforce21: The Power of Partnership" Consortium.

Colorado. Economic gardening is taking root in the front range of Colorado and Wyoming, and Loveland, Colorado is now implementing this strategy. We are tracking Economic Gardening nationally and encourage you to share your experience and insights about this model with us. Email Don Macke at [email protected].

Georgia. Georgia continues to be a leader in rural entrepreneurship. In just a couple of years there are now 10 Entrepreneurial Friendly Communities in Georgia with a remarkable 41 more in the pipelines. Georgia’s Entrepreneurial Friendly Community Program is direct and successful. For more information contact Mary Ellen McClanahan at http://www.georgia.org/esbd.

Nebraska. The Center for Rural Affairs is a national leader in rural development. Their REAP Program or Rural Enterprise Assistance Program is one of the oldest and most successful rural microlending-based entrepreneurship programs in the country. For more information about REAP, check out the Nebraska Page on our website at http://www.ruraleship.org/index_html?page=content/Nebraska.htm.

Ohio. The Northeast Ohio Foundations are pooling $22 million for regional economic development. Entrepreneurship is part of this remarkably aggressive agenda. For more information, check out http://www.FutureFundNEO.org.

Sirolli and Enterprise Facilitation. Ernesto Sirolli planted seeds all over the world and many of them have rooted and continue today. Efforts are underway to form an international association of enterprise facilitators and programs. We are tracking enterprise facilitation and looking for more stories on rural-based programs. If you have experience with such a program, email Don Macke at [email protected].

NEW ON THE WEB

Sarah Low, "Regional Asset Indicators: The Wealth of Regions," The Main Street Economist, Center for the Study of Rural America, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, September 2005, http://www.kansascityfed.org/RuralCenter/mainstreet/MainStMain.htm.

Karen Dabson, The Power of Planning, presentation at CEED Selected Communities’ Action Planning Workshop in Columbia, MO, September 21-22, 2005, http://www.ruraleship.org/index_html?page=content/newreleases.htm.

Karen Dabson, Energizing Entrepreneurs in America’s Rural Communities; training session at the AEO Regional Training Institute, October 13, 2005, Oklahoma City, OK, http://www.ruraleship.org/index_html?page=content/newreleases.htm.

Questions and Additional Information

Deb Markley – Rural Entrepreneurship News Editor and Co-Director – Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

72 Cedar Hills Circle – Chapel Hill, NC 27514-1620

Voice 919.932.7762 – Fax 919.932.5367 – Email [email protected]

Don Macke – Co-Director – Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

POBox 83107, Lincoln, NE 68501

Voice 402.323.7339 – Fax 402.323.7349 – Email [email protected]

Web http://www.ruraleship.org

Taina Radenslaben at [email protected] or 402.323.7336