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Still wondering “what if…?”
February 25th, 2010 by Mike Knutson
How do entrepreneurs find the inspiration to start their ventures? And where do entrepreneurs turn to find the resources necessary to grow their businesses. Those are poignant questions for rural community leaders. Obviously there are no simple answers, but I’m hoping to better understand the opportunities surrounding them at the Launch10 Conference at Dakota Wesleyan University today. It’s a conference that brings entrepreneurs, college students, educators, and community members together to talk about their futures.
While talking to Jim Beddow about the Launch10 Conference a couple weeks ago, I learned that fellow Wesleyan alumnus, Eric Pulse is part of new business venture in Kimball, SD (pop. 745). Thinking that he might have an interesting perspective on these questions, I gave Eric a call, and we chatted about his venture, The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball. It turns out he had a lot to share.
I’d really hoped to share the story about the startup of this rural business in greater detail today, but time just hasn’t cooperated. I do, however, want to share one piece of advice Eric had to offer.
Before ending our call, I asked Eric what advice he had for entrepreneurs. He responded, “Don’t be the person who sits back and wonders in ten years, what if…?”
Sage advice. I think it speaks to rural communities as well, which brings us back to why I’m attending the Launch10 conference.
There are lots of models for supporting entrepreneurs. Littleton, CO’s Economic Gardening process and the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship’s E2 model come to mind. But communities leaders, like business leaders, can’t sit back and wait for entrepreneurs to appear and then expect them to be successful on their own. Instead we’ve got to be intention and be prepared to support them. Or else in ten years, we’re going to be the one’s wondering “what if…?”
Tags: Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, Dakota Wesleyan University, Economic Gardening, entrepreneurship, Kimball SD, Launch'10
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