Page 60 - 1-Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development by Norman Walzer (z-lib.org)

What’s Culture Got to Do with It? 49

Hispanic Rural Business Center in Nebraska. In its first year of operation,
the center helped more than 100 Hispanic entrepreneurs receive significant
technical assistance and training.
In addition, the pilot communities of Schuyler, South Sioux City, Crete,
and Madison formed REAP Rural Business Roundtable groups and completed
the five-session basic business training course in Spanish. These pilot com-
munities were chosen because of their high population Hispanics. REAP
plans to expand its outreach to Hispanic entrepreneurs and will continue to
research, develop, and build strategic partners (REAP Business Update 2006).
Entrepreneurial communities are able to grapple with difficult problems
and rephrase them in more inclusive ways that allow diverse voices to be
heard. They think about issues from a systems perspective rather than iso-
late entrepreneurship from the broader community.
Horizontal networks are also essential. Entrepreneurs tend to learn best
from those most like themselves, rather than experts. For example, small
business owners and civic leaders founded the Business Alliance for Local
Living Economies (BALLE) to create more humane and sustainable local
communities. Some BALLE groups train new social entrepreneurs while
others push for greater state commitment in renewable energy and health
care (Schuman 2006).
The Community Progress Initiative in the Wisconsin Rapids area involved
more than 130 individuals in industry clustering networks along with entre-
preneur mentoring teams and study tours. Because of these and other entre-
preneurial-friendly initiatives more than 1,000 jobs have been created or
retained (U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy 2005).
Vertical networks encourage a two-way flow of information. Entrepre-
neurial communities cannot depend exclusively on local resources but need
to link with others outside the community for information and resources.
Vertical networks are created at different systems levels. The Northern Iowa
Area Community College Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center cooperated
with the Iowa Department of Economic Development to identify informal
investors, angels, to create a community-based venture capital fund and to
develop an investor-entrepreneur network in northern Iowa. Sixty-one in-
vestors from 16 communities started a $1.7 million for-profit venture cap-
ital fund (Zanios 2006).
This network has a stake in the entrepreneur’s success; they offer exper-
tise, not just money, and often become part of the entrepreneur’s board of
directors. The group has reviewed 81 business proposals, has assisted 51 of
those with technical and educational assistance, and has provided start-up
funds for 5 firms. This networking involves more than capital; it is a critical
connection between those with investment and business expertise and en-
trepreneurs in the region.