Page 225 - 1-Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development by Norman Walzer (z-lib.org)

214 Don Macke

The realities of following the wrong approach play out in many ways. Us-
ing the correct geographic area that can be served at a human scale proves
to be very important. The right geography is subjective but does have im-
portant boundaries. It must be an area where the support system can create
a one-on-one relationship with entrepreneurs but large enough to allow ro-
bust resources and entrepreneurial networks to emerge and grow. Creating
these kinds of human resource intensive systems demands adequate pro-
gram capital with a strategy that can effectively manage resources at a per-
sonal level over a regional landscape.

Right Approaches

Since most economic development is funded directly or indirectly by lo-
cal, state, or federal governments, tight fiscal times demand efficiency and
effectiveness. Such demands have moved many public programs away from
individual help to group assistance or mass approaches using Web-based re-
sources. Many of these programs and resources have good track records, but
they perform better with that one-on-one element. Interviews with success-
ful entrepreneurial approaches found that entrepreneurial networks, men-
toring, peer groups, small groups, and customized assistance work best. In
these environments, the full needs of entrepreneurs can be more readily
identified and addressed.
In addition, those programs with the greatest impact understood the im-
plications of a human development, rather than a strictly business devel-
opment, approach. More personal support issues such as life balance, goal
clarification, and preference management (e.g., the entrepreneur wants to
produce but not manage finances) can be addressed more effectively; how-
ever, as with education or healthcare programs, these kinds of entrepre-
neurial development systems are expensive and difficult to build and sus-
tain.

Business Services
Some policymakers might argue that most economic progress occurs out-
side of development programs, which are housed mainly in the private sec-
tor. The availability and level of private business services differs widely in
rural and urban areas, and these services can be important in local eco-
nomic development. Urban areas have a rich environment of private busi-
ness services, ranging from basic (e.g., help with taxes) to sophisticated
(e.g., patent attorneys).
Most rural areas, on the other hand, may offer some basic services, but
sophisticated business services are usually only located in urban centers.
Not only is access an issue, but there is a cultural barrier as well. Most rural