Page 234 - 1-Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development by Norman Walzer (z-lib.org)

Energizing Entrepreneurs: Lessons from the Field 223

1. Northern California
2. Nebraska’s HomeTown Competitiveness
3. Georgia’s Entrepreneurial Communities
4. North Carolina’s Entrepreneurial Development Network
5. Fairfield, Iowa’s Entrepreneurs Association Approach

Northern California

A remarkable rural landscape located in Northern California is some-
times referred to as Redwood Country or the Lost Coast. It is rugged, beau-
tiful, and isolated, with industries such as timber in decline and with eco-
nomic restructuring a significant challenge. In Humboldt County, a group
of partners, including the Humboldt Area Community Foundation, has
come together to build an entrepreneurial economy and society. They are
realizing very interesting successes. Now, this effort is branching out to in-
clude other communities in this region, with new partners, including Hum-
boldt State University, the College of the Redwoods, local development
groups, and local governments. 7
The core strategy focuses on specific industries, such as timber, agricul-
ture, or business services, and the coalition has taken the time to learn from
and engage leaders in these industries. This learning process has brought
deeper insight and relationships. The coalition, rooted in this knowledge, is
working to build resources to address the needs of these industries and the
businesses within them. Issues of capital access, a trained workforce, infra-
structure, marketing, and branding are all part of the package being devel-
oped in this remote landscape in Northern California.

Nebraska’s HomeTown Competitiveness
The Northern Great Plains, a land of small farming communities, has
been in demographic retreat since the 1930s and the Great Depression. Ne-
braska, for example, has 365 communities with an average size of approxi-
mately 350 residents.
HomeTown Competitiveness (HTC) was created to support sustainable,
appropriate, and entrepreneurial development in communities and re-
gions like those in the Northern Great Plains Region. HTC focuses on
helping communities build core development capacity (i.e., leadership,
financial resources, youth, and entrepreneurship). Started in 2000, HTC
now has a positive track record in partner communities in Nebraska, Mis-
8
souri, and Kansas. The number of communities embracing and investing
in HTC continues to grow, and bottom line results from one of the early
adopting communities, Valley County, Nebraska, sheds light on the types
of outcomes being realized. Figure 11.1 is from Valley County’s recent de-
velopment reports.