Posts Tagged ‘Deuel SD’

How are you supporting your future popcorn ball makers?

March 15th, 2010

I’ve seen them at every gas station in town.  They catch my eye every time, but I’d never tried one.  Until last week, that is.  That’s when I enjoyed my first Original Kimball Popcorn Ball.  Mike filled me in on the story of the Kimball Popcorn ball awhile back, and we discussed how we should share the story on the blog.  My first response was, “I need to try the popcorn ball!”  So, I stopped at my local Casey’s to purchase one for inspiration … I ended up buying three. 

But, there’s more to this story.  Because popcorn balls, especially those from Kimball, South Dakota, don’t just land on the shelves of our local convenience stores.  There’s the making of the popcorn balls, which I would guess is a difficult process in mass quantities. And then there’s the fact that the business owners have to decide to pursue a business and need to be supported by community, proper facilities and a productive workforce.    As it turns out, it’s quite a story. 

 

The big decision

The owners of The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball, LLC didn’t set out to make popcorn balls.  Lee Pulse and Scott Handel (two of the owners) owned and operated a hunting and fishing guide service in Kimball, South Dakota.  When a convenience store became available a few years ago, they purchased it.  Popcorn balls were part of the deal. 

The business’ previous owner made homemade popcorn balls to sell out of the store’s kitchen.  Lee and Scott continued this practice, tinkering with the recipe as time went by.  Meanwhile the popcorn balls gained a reputation and grew in popularity.  Lee’s brother, Eric Pulse, and another partner Dennis Husman entered the picture as thoughts of expansion emerged. 

Despite a seemingly high demand, the decision to move into production full time wasn’t an easy one.  A special request from a hospital patient who loved the popcorn balls gave the business team the final push they needed.  And today, they ship The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball to convenience and specialty food stores across the country.   Six full time employees are employed out of the facility the company leases in Kimball, South Dakota.

 

How is your community supporting its future entrepreneurs?

The four partners that make up The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball LLC made their decision to pursue a business opportunity based on some market demand information and previous business experience.  But what if the future entrepreneurs in your community don’t have that information?  What would it take to help them make a successful leap into popcorn ball making, gear box remanufacturing or hair styling? 

These questions are being answered differently in communities across South Dakota and the region, but here are a couple of great examples:

Deuel Area Development (DAD), a development organization based in Deuel County, SD is in the process of developing an entrepreneurship program that relies on an Area Resource Team to provide targeted, specific assistance to entrepreneurs.  The Resource Team is made up of a variety of individuals with specific skills and experiences needed to help budding entrepreneurs (resource team members include lenders, lawyers, engineers, etc.).  DAD is also developing marketing materials and strategy to reach potential entrepreneurs in their region.

The Dakota Rising program partners local communities with start-up phase entrepreneurs to begin building capacity and relationships to encourage rural entrepreneurship.  The program is unique in a few ways; first, the program intentionally builds relationships with communities who then seek out area entrepreneurs.  Second, the program develops a strong social network among the entrepreneurs so they can learn from, and lean on one another.  During the 2009 National Economic Gardening Conference, one participant of the program described that “entrepreneurs need other entrepreneurs.”  This program is delivering that need for a number of entrepreneurs in South Dakota. 

I guess the bottom line is that there are many ways to help find and support potential entrepreneurs in your community, and no one program will work for every community.  Eric Pulse’s inspiration shared in the post Still Wondering What If…? applies to rural communities as well.  Rural communities can’t afford to let potential entrepreneurs sit back and wonder “what if?”

 

 

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