It is interesting that the Thursday 5 p.m. flight out of Washington D.C. always carries a number of congressmen and senators back to their home territory. Perhaps it is the perfect time for some to educate and lobby. A captive audience for sure.

I spent yesterday at the U.S. Small Business Administration in D.C. and got the chance to hear from the Administrator, Karen Mills. Karen hails from Maine where she was instrumental in helping to build a cluster around Maine’s boat-building industry. She believes that you can achieve long term sustainable job growth when organizations come together in a region to focus on one industry or tech area where they can excel. Consequently, the SBA is looking at methods for developing clusters in other areas of the country. They are doing this in conjunction with inter-agency collaborations.

One interesting development, not just because of the money involved, but because of the way that the funding is being created, is the recent Department of Energy grant program for green building technology. (link here) Rather than all of the funding coming from DOE, several federal agencies are participating. In addition to DOE, the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, Small Business Administration, Department of Labor and Department of Education are all participating. The group is expecting that partnerships will arise on the receiving side of the grant as well... winning the grant requires that grant partnerships are just as important as the technology involved.

December 2, 2009

This week I got to spend some time in Boston, MA working with Babson College and a group from Saudi Arabia that is trying to inspire entrepreneurship in that country. Stay tuned for more on this discussion in a later post.

I had the opportunity to meet a number of new people including Tom Eisenmann, a professor at Harvard Business School. He shared his blog with us and I’m sharing it with you: He recently posted this compilation of some of what he considers to be the best advice for startups available on the web.

I’ve been honored to spend time at the Edward Lowe Foundation in Cassopolis, MI. An operating foundation, this organization does not give out grants, instead uses its funds to maintain the grounds of a retreat center handed down from the man who created Kitty Litter. As part of the center, a large fire pit is surrounded by six boxcars that have been retrofitted to make for fine sleeping arrangements. The staff at the Lowe Foundation conducts retreats that bring together diverse groups of people and turn them into teams to solve problems, right around the campfire. Reflective walks and other outdoor activities are part of the experience. It is one of the calmest places in the country and worth checking out.

The Lowe Foundation also specializes in an area that is anything but calm – the life of the “second stage” company.

Second stage companies are past start-up but not mature. Privately held with 10-99 employees, these companies have owners who have a passion a growth. From $1-50 million in revenue, these businesses include high and steady growth companies as well as those with the potential for extreme high growth.

What issues do these owners face?

• Too much business – what a problem to have! But such capacity issues – augh!
• Many complex (wicked) problems all at the same time

What do they need?

• Help, just-in-time

The U.S. should appreciate the work of these businesses. The Lowe Foundation has access to a special database that tracks business growth and has demonstrated that it is these companies that are creating the new jobs in America today.

Are you a second-stage business? If you could snap your fingers and have a problem solved today, what would it be?

Thank you President Lincoln!

I bet Abraham Lincoln had no idea when he signed into law the Morrill Act that the land-grant universities established as a result would have such a profound impact on our present economy.

For the many years that I’ve been part of the University of Missouri – KC family, I’ve heard that we are a “land-grant” institution. I never paid much attention until I was invited to get involved with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ (APLU) effort to define how universities play in today’s economy.

I did some investigating and found that higher education has been looked to as the driver of economic transformation for a long time.

In 1862, the Morrill Act granted vast expanses of federal land to the states. (States like Rhode Island, who had no federal land available, received land in the west in far away places like Kansas.) The states were directed to sell the land to endow institutions of higher education. These new schools were to move beyond classical studies to teach practical agriculture and mechanical arts to the common man, providing the education needed by workers in a newly industrial society. The colleges and universities that rose out of this act were called land-grant institutions and the emphasis on “mechanical arts” created some of our finest engineering schools.

Today there are only about 100 of these institutions across the U.S, but the focus on applied research, practical education and outreach has pushed their impact on the economy far beyond what would be expected by the numbers.

I recently attended the 122 Annual Meeting of the APLU in Washington, DC. As the plane bumped homeward through the thin air at 34,000 feet, I juggled my laptop and diet Coke and the flight attendants remained seated. (I was quite worried that Midwest was not going to be able to deliver the cookies during this one.) This left plenty to time to reflect on the university’s role in economic development. Beyond creating the workforce of tomorrow, this means ensuring that university discoveries benefit the public, that the university plays a key role with industry and that research and expertise is openly accessible.

The APLU Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity is developing institutional self-assessment tools and output measures that demonstrate the role universities play in economic development. View an early version of the tool.

Read more: land-Grant Colleges and Universities APLU/Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity

How do you think universities should play in the local economy?

It’s an age old discussion and one that is sure to elicit conversation over a glass of wine: are entrepreneurs born that way or can you make them?

I always think that it is interesting that no one ever asks: was Yo-Yo Ma born that way or did someone teach him? Obviously talent can drive someone to the top of the profession, whether it is music, dance or even swimming. So too the passion, perseverance and drive to succeed is important. After all, how many boring laps of the pool for how many long hours every day did Michael Phelps put in to win eight gold medals?

So perhaps entrepreneurship relies on both a set of skills and the talent to use them. Like the youngster at ballet class who is learning balance and posture or the person at the piano reading music and translating it to sound, skills can be taught. And these skills will better lives and bring enjoyment to many. But only a few will have the ability to take those skills and turn them into performances that are delivered with ultimate elegance and beauty.

We teach our children piano, flute and violin and put them in a pool to compete with others. Some very few blossom into concert virtuosos and win spots on an Olympic team. Will all children grow up to play at Carnegie Hall? No, but parents the world over make sure children are taught these skills.

So shouldn’t we teach entrepreneurship? Seeing the big picture, understanding all facets of a business and acquiring a few key sales skills should help anyone who will reside in the workforce.

Let us know what you think, leave a comment!

Quick highlights from the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Economic Development,
September 9-11, 2009, St. Louis, MO.

Missouri Rural Areas Create Jobs through Entrepreneurship
Southeast Missouri began a program in 2006 to assist a rural area of southeast Missouri develop jobs through entrepreneurship.  Today the Jump-Start program boasts a 79% retention rate with 96% of its businesses still in operation after 3 years.  The program created 288 jobs for this rural 13-county area of 380,000 people.

For more information check out this presentation and contact Scott Sattler, Manager, Business & Industry, Workforce Investment Board of Southeast Missouri

The Next Generation Manufacturing National Survey 2009
Across the country manufacturers participated in the Next Generation Manufacturing (NGM) Survey, a national research effort coordinated by the American Small Manufacturers Coalition (an association of Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers and partners); conducted by the Manufacturing Performance Institute (MPI); and supported by Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers and partnering organizations in the following states and

Mary Davis, President & Chief Executive Officer of Missouri Enterprise demonstrated that Missouri’s manufacturers rated above average in recognizing the importance of process improvement and the green movement and excel at customer satisfaction.

Where can they use help?
More focus on new products, research and development as well as a strong need for global engagement, international sales and distribution locations.

Are you aware of any programs that have been proven to take small manufacturers into the global economy?

Read more at the Missouri's Department of Economic Development website.

Let us know what you think, leave a comment!

September 13, 2009

I’m on the tarmac at Kansas City International looking out my airplane window at a herd of cattle lazily chewing grass in the late afternoon sun.  Kansas City is not considered a rural economy, yet it sits isolated by miles of farmland in the middle of the country.  Last week I attended the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Economic Development which covered topics from economic to workforce development.  It was clear that small businesses in the “country” have similar needs to those in the “city” like access to bridge and short term loans.  But they have other needs too, including the much needed availability of broadband services and the need to lure people off of the interstates to consider living and working in rural areas.

Two areas of the country I have recently come across have or are exploring new ways to grow rural economies:  South Central Idaho and South Eastern Minnesota.  Both groups assessed their assets and created regional innovative collaborations to change the landscape.

South Central Idaho consists of the counties of Camas, Blaine, Gooding, Lincoln, Jerome, Minidoka, Twin Falls, and Cassia. The Snake River Canyon, Shoshone Falls and other natural wonders combine with a moderate climate to make the area attractive to tourists and retirees alike. The area has long been agriculturally based, thanks to the 1905 effort to build canals that carry water from the Snake River to the Milner Dam.  Towns like Twin Falls grew so rapidly when water became available in this desert region that it earned the name “Magic Valley.” 

With little change in the crop based economy, other than a surge in dairy and cheese processing in the 1990’s, the region needed a new focus for the future.  In 2000 a study evaluated the assets of the region and suggested that in addition to agriculture and food processing the area could support light manufacturing and technology. The region of population 176,400 would accomplish more by standing together than by standing alone. 

Collaborative groups like the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization led by the College of Southern Idaho and Region IV Development Association (RIVDA) assisted in the development of Ready Teams to find and attract the right companies. Hard work resulted in the diversification of the economy with new industry clusters including recreational vehicle manufacturing, a large computer tech-center, plastics extrusion and metal machining.

Read more: One, Two, Three

Let us know what you think, leave a comment!