Page 276 - 1-Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development by Norman Walzer (z-lib.org)

Getting Started in Community-Based Entrepreneurship 265

an example of building upon a little-known fruit that is indigenous to the
region (Holley, chapter 12). Focusing on the PawPaw fruit has generated
value-added enterprises and tourism dollars. Other regions, where the Paw-
Paw fruit does not grow, will find it difficult to compete head-to-head with
the area.

Finance and Regulations

16. Are bank loans available for start-ups (Lichtenstein, Lyons, and Kutzhanova
2004; Muske and Woods 2004; Woods and Muske, chapter 11)? While
Lyons, Lichtenstein, and Kutzhanova (chapter 5), point out that capital is
not the major source of start-up funding for entrepreneurial businesses,
communities that provide these kinds of financial services are likely to see
an increased level of start-ups.
17. Does the community have an Individual Development Account (IDA)
program to help entrepreneurs build start-up capital? Does the community have
a revolving loan fund program for business start-up and expansion? Does the
community support the formation of peer-lending programs? Does the commu-
nity take full advantage of Small Business Administration financing programs
such as the guaranteed loan programs and intermediary lending program?
Markley (chapter 6) provides an excellent overview of these financing
tools. These tried-and-true models can be replicated in other communi-
ties to solve the often intractable problem of obtaining capital to start or
grow a business. While capital may not be the primary barrier to in-
creasing the local supply of entrepreneurs, it is probably the largest prob-
lem in the minds of many business owners, so financing programs may
provide real assistance and signal to owners that the local leadership
takes their concerns seriously.
18. Has the community created a Community Development Financial Institu-
tion (a private financial institution whose mission is community development)
and a Community Development Venture Capital Institution to assemble and dis-
tribute venture capital (Markley, chapter 6)? These newer models of formal-
izing channels for financing of entrepreneurial development are worth-
while to explore, especially if a community already uses the methods
outlined in question 17.
19. Are external assets in entrepreneurial development such as foundations, the
Heartland Center, the Rural Policy Research Institute Center for Rural Entrepre-
neurship, the Cooperative Extension System, and the SBDC network engaged with
the community (Macke, chapter 9; Markley, chapter 6)? It is important to
benefit from lessons that others have learned the “hard way” through trial
and error. If a community is not aware of, or does not use the educational
assets listed above, then it may make critical mistakes in its efforts to grow
and sustain entrepreneurs. Similarly, foundations, such as Ewing Marion