Page 228 - 1-Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development by Norman Walzer (z-lib.org)

Energizing Entrepreneurs: Lessons from the Field 217

proaches before realizing systemic outcomes. A three-year program is not
long enough; a generational commitment is mandatory if significant
change and progress are desired.

Failure to Target Entrepreneurial Talent
Any successful business has learned to find a competitive niche. Part of
this formula for success involves understanding the customers and doing
the best job in meeting their needs at a competitive price. The same is true
with entrepreneurial development. A key dividing line between less and
more successful programs is entrepreneurial talent segmentation. Success-
ful programs understand that an aspiring entrepreneur with no prior busi-
ness experience has very different developmental needs than an existing
business seeking to grow into a national market. Less successful entrepre-
neurship programs tend to treat all entrepreneurs the same and try to ad-
dress their needs through similar approaches. As entrepreneurial skills and
success increase, entrepreneurs require more customized and specialized as-
sistance.
Combined, these five attributes of success and five reasons for failure be-
gin to paint a picture of the core elements in cutting-edge entrepreneurial
development systems and environments. The next section describes models
of successful rural entrepreneurial development systems.

MODELS OF PRACTICE

Entrepreneurship is part of our American heritage, with Ben Franklin serv-
ing as a model entrepreneur at the time of the American Revolution. De-
spite this legacy and history, focused and intentional entrepreneurial local
economic development is relatively new. The oldest programs are only
twenty to thirty years old. This section explores five long-term programs and
five new promising initiatives. Each of these initiatives has learned the les-
sons outlined earlier in this chapter.

Long-Standing Programs

There are about two-dozen long-standing entrepreneurial development
systems in rural America that could be highlighted. Five have been selected
to illustrate important factors underlying their success. They exhibit diverse
approaches as well as different areas of the United States:

1. Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation
2. Coastal Enterprises of Maine