Posts Tagged ‘Economic Gardening’

Breaking the “glass ceiling” with economic gardening

April 29th, 2011

I’d like you to play along with a hypothetical situation. Let’s say you operate a business making high end gym bags. You’re really good at making these bags. People who see your bags love them. One problem, however; they are expensive. You’ve determined that you need to sell your product for $450 apiece. Surprisingly – at least to me – there is a market for your product. It’s a relatively small market, but you’ve been in business for a few years now and sense there is an opportunity to expand. But, where are those potential customers, and how do you reach them? Those are tough questions for a small business to answer. And the reality is that most small businesses don’t know how to answer them. It’s a glass ceiling that hinders way too many businesses with great products and great opportunities.

Not so hypothetical

While I’ve taken some liberties with the above, it is based on a real story told by Chris Gibbons, the father of economic gardening, on Blog Talk Radio yesterday. It’s a story that emphasizes the value economic gardening programs offer small businesses. (To listen to the interview click here. Chris' interview begins at 67:15.) In this example, Chris explained that his staff used their databases and GIS mapping techniques to identify where people who meet the company’s customer profile live. What’s interesting is that they discovered that these individuals live in only 8 or 9 U.S. cities. And more specifically, they live within a few select neighborhoods in those cities. Knowing these details is vital to executing any marketing plan.

So why can’t businesses do this for themselves?

Chris explained that in the Littleton program, they focus on Stage 2 companies because they are the type of businesses that are ready to create jobs. (Stage 2 companies have 10-100 employees and $1-$50 million in sales.) While large corporations regularly make use of the databases and techniques Chris described, Stage 2 companies typically don’t have the time or resources. It’s their glass ceiling. Realizing this explains why economic gardening programs are important.

Your chance to hear Chris

If you are like me and missed the original broadcast, you can hear Chris by clicking here. (His portion of the interview begins at 66:15.) I’ve heard Chris several times before, but this interview especially captured my attention. And I hope you find Economic Gardening as fascinating as I do. Note: Readers may also be interested in Beth Plutchak's recent guest post about building an economic gardening program in rural Wisconsin.

Tags: Chris Gibbons, Economic Gardening, entrepreneurship
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (0)

5 Secrets to Launching a rural Economic Gardening program

April 21st, 2011

Midwesterners are usually good at growing things. In fact, many of us participated in 4-H as youngsters, where we raised animals, grew vegetables, and built projects to be entered at Achievement Days during the county fair. But for some reason, we can’t seem to grow an economic gardening program -- at least not in South Dakota. That’s why I invited Beth Plutchak of Beth Plutchak Consulting and Sue Gleason of SyzyGy50 to share their story. They’ve been instrumental in creating an economic gardening program in Sauk County, Wisconsin. Having read through both Beth’s blog post and their Final Report for the project, I thought I’d share 5 secrets that might help grow a program in South Dakota and other rural states?

5 Secrets to starting an economic gardening program

#1 – There are no secrets. Let’s get that out of the way from the start. It’s a lot of hard work and innovative thinking. It also takes a little bit of risk. #2 – It takes a trained staff. Both Beth and Sue bring experience to the table in their roles as consultants. Beth had been in banking, and Sue worked in workforce and economic development. They also benefited from attending Economic Gardening training sessions sponsored by the Edward Lowe Foundation. Yet they admitted to a learning curve when digging in the databases used to help businesses. I think it’s safe to say training is a must for staff members. #3 – It requires a regional approach. Sauk County has a population of 59,000, which is larger than all but two of South Dakota’s counties. Based on what I’ve learned from Beth and Sue, I think it would probably take an even larger population to generate enough business to keep one staff person working fulltime. And I’m sure a larger population base would help with efficiencies as well. Although I don’t know what size is optimal, operating an economic gardening program in a state like South Dakota would require a multi-county effort. #4 -- Public-private partnerships may be the way to go. Although many economic gardening programs offer their services to businesses for free, the Sauk County program charged participating businesses $100. While free is probably preferable, I do like the concept of charging businesses a minimal fee. Not only does it help with the program costs, but it makes sure that businesses are committed to the process. I also like the idea of partnering with local economic development corporations and foundations. That way no one entity is bearing the full brunt of starting the project. #5 – Get started “now.” It’s never going to be perfect. Beth and Sue did their research before launching this effort, but they didn’t have everything worked out perfectly either. Read their Final Report and you will discover that some of their assumptions were wrong. They had to make changes on the fly, and they’d like to make further changes in the future. I really appreciate this because change and adaptation are a part of the entrepreneurial process. It’s great to see a public-private partnership following the same principles. Prior to reading Beth’s guest post, I hadn’t realized that the Sauk County Economic Gardening program was a pilot project. As Beth and Sue mention, they are currently negotiating with several entities to expand and continue their effort. I hope they are successful. I think they are onto a great concept. It’s the type of project that could benefit rural communities everywhere. If you have any additional questions you would like to ask of Beth and Sue, fire away. They’ve already been very gracious with their information, and I’m sure they will answer any comments as time allows.

Tags: Economic Gardening, entrepreneurship, Wisconsin
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (0)

Can economic gardening really work in rural areas?

April 20th, 2011

…or will it take a huge influx of cash to fund the program?

Editorial note: I recently invited Beth Plutchak of Beth Plutchak Consulting and Sue Gleason of SyzyGy50 to share their story about how they, as independent consultants, have partnered with the Sauk County Development Corporation to create an Economic Gardening program in Sauk County, WI. I was particularly interested in their project because I want to get a better handle on how rural communities are developing economic gardening programs. Beth responded with some great information. Guest post by Beth Plutchak In 2008 Alliant Energy Company brought Chris Gibbons, the guru of Economic Gardening to Madison, WI as part of an ongoing series on local Economic Development. At the time I had just left a career in banking to start consulting for businesses and Economic Development Organizations. My partner Sue Gleason, was still working for Thrive, an eight county Economic Development Region located in overwhelmingly rural South Central Wisconsin. There were a number of things that really rang true for me in that eight hour session:

the importance of growing local businesses rather than traditional retention and recruitment
the availability of tools for businesses that had been unavailable in the recent past
the data showing that even though we all knew jobs were created by small businesses, we now know that net jobs are created by small businesses with certain characteristics
the importance of supporting local entrepreneurs.

Sue and I were both pretty sold on the approach early on in the session. In the afternoon the inevitable question came up, “Well, this all sounds very good, but how much does it cost?” Gibbons program in Littleton, CO cost approximately $600,000 per year, which puts it well out of the range of rural communities. The major expenses of the program are salaries for trained staff and the cost of databases and tools. The funding mechanism for the Colorado program is unavailable in Wisconsin, except at the state level. Businesses in Littleton pay income taxes to the City. As their revenues grow the city’s tax receipts grow, a nice direct feedback mechanism. Much of the new activity in Economic Gardening has taken place at the state level in Florida and Washington State, for example, where state income tax revenues fund the program.

Fast forward to 2010

Sue was also working as an independent consultant by this time. We continued our conversations on how to bring an Economic Gardening Program into Wisconsin. Agencies were interested, but the issue always came back to the budget. Fond du Lac County and the City of Mauston were able to obtain grants to put programs in place, but the nature of grant funding is to go away once the program has been in existence for a period of time. The then Executive Director of the Sauk County Development Corporation, Karna Hanna, had also attended the Alliant Energy session in 2008. She was interested in putting together a program, but her budget would not support one. We started taking a harder look at the budget elements. The main costs are staff and databases. Sue and I were already trained in the tools and had some experience using them. We had each attended the Economic Gardening training sessions at the Edward Lowe Foundation. We could contract the work and SCDC would not have to fund additional staff. The costs of databases continued to come down, largely with the help of Chris Gibbons who has been working to convince some of the large providers that there is a market for lower priced tools. Some of the databases were already available to us through the South Central Wisconsin Library System and the University of Wisconsin Business School Library. We thought, why don’t we do what rural people always do, and make the best use of what we have available, rather than waiting until we can afford more?

What about the costs?

The missing piece was how to pay for Sue and my consulting time, since we would be performing the role of paid staff. One of the issues that Gibbons emphasizes in the Economic Gardening Training is the disastrous consequences for local communities of the so-called race to the bottom. Whenever companies focus on cutting costs in order to lower their prices, they are setting themselves up to be put out of business by someone with the capital to cut price even deeper. Economic Gardening gives companies the tools they need to protect their margins, and to innovate in ways that create barriers to entry for their competition. We didn’t need to provide services for free. We needed to show Return on Investment. We began our program with a pilot that ran until the end of 2010. The pilot was funded by grants from Alliant Energy, the W. R. and Floy A. Sauey Family Foundation, and in-kind donations of time. The participant companies paid $100 per company to take part. The pilot funding covered services to the companies of $100 per hour in consulting fees, plus extra costs of database passes and tools. These costs will be borne fully by participating companies going forward. The total budget for the pilot program was just under $20,000. We went into the pilot with the following assumptions:

There is a need and desire for this program in Rural Communities
Companies will pay for services that directly impact their bottom line
Consultants who have been through the Lowe Foundation Economic Gardening training are well equipped to provide the technical services the program requires
The cost of ongoing professional development, both formal (Lowe Training) and informal (learning the new tools) can be borne by the consultants and factored into the costs of services
Program overhead costs could also be borne by the consultants as the day-to-day costs of running their businesses
It is important to have SCDC sponsor the program
SCDC and the consultants would be able to build awareness of the program through press releases and direct contact with companies which could potentially benefit from the program, as well as word of mouth referrals

During the pilot stage we worked with nine separate companies, providing a variety of services. After the pilot we asked the companies to take part in a survey, and the new SCDC Director Gene Dalhoff conducted interviews with the company owners. The companies overwhelmingly wanted SCDC to continue with the project.

What did we learn?

We have a couple of challenges going forward. One is building word of mouth about the program. This is harder than we thought it would be. There were also costs associated with the start-up which we didn’t accurately estimate. Sue and I spent more time on program development, materials development, marketing and training than we expected we would. We are currently in talks with the family foundation that funded the pilot, concerning funding for program start-up costs as we transition to a self-funded program. We are also looking at spreading the costs among EDOs, by inviting other agencies and municipalities to take part in our model. There will likely be some kind of membership cost to establish and maintain a program, but we still expect the majority of the funding to come from fees to the businesses that take part. We intend to keep EDO costs as low as possible. The results of the SCDC pilot study can be found here. For further information see Beth Plutchak of Beth Plutchak Consulting and Sue Gleason of SyzyGy50 .

Tags: Economic Gardening, Edward Lowe Foundation, entrepreneurship, Sauk County WI, Wisconsin
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (4)

5 Economic Gardening Resources

March 21st, 2011

“All hands to the deck.” I a little help. What information would you share about economic gardening with someone new to the cause? A recent conversation with a friend, led her to advocate for the creation of a regional economic gardening program at a meeting she attended this week. Afterward, an official asked for more information on the strategy. My friend called, excited to share the news, and asked that I send her some economic gardening “resources.” Admittedly, I had limited time, but fired off an e-mail with links to a few of my favorites. That’s where you come in. I’ve listed those links below. Since you probably have better resources describing economic gardening, I’d ask that you contribute them in the comments below.

First, I have to plug a short video interview with Chris Gibbons that I produced when he was in South Dakota for the 2009 National Economic Gardening Conference – “Chris Gibbons on Economic Gardening.” (this is my first crack at creating a video, so ignore the quality.) Chris started the first economic gardening program in Littleton, CO, so it was great to hear his description of the concept.

Second, I’d check out the City of Littleton’s Economic Gardening page. It offers a history and description of their program. Under the category of Economic Gardening Today, it also highlights the “three main elements” of their program in Littleton: Information, Infrastructure, and Connections. Although all three are important, I think our region needs a beefed-up effort to help companies acquire the information they need about their markets in order to grow.

Third on my list is an article titled “CI for Small Businesses.” Written by Christine Hamilton-Pennell, the article describes how competitive intelligence (a key part of economic gardening) works and how the process impacts small businesses. Christine use to work for Chris in Littleton, and currently runs her own business, which works with communities to establish their own entrepreneurship support programs.

Fourth, if we are seeking to develop a regional program (as Chris advocates in the video), we should look to Wyoming as an example. This presentation titled “Rural Economic Gardening: the Wyoming Model” offers an overview their program. I especially like that it identifies the types of databases they use to help entrepreneurs find the information their businesses need.

And finally, I saved the best for last. After getting a feel for economic gardening with the resources above, I would encourage you to join the “Eco-dev” Google Group. Experts like Chris regularly share resources about economic gardening. It’s really the go to resource for economic gardening.

So there’s my quick list. What’s on yours? Note: Many people are currently using the term "economic gardening" to describe all types of entrepreneurship support. While I think those are great, I think our region would benefit greatly from the type of focused market analysis -- competitive intelligence -- that is offered by Chris Gibbon's program.

Tags: Chris Gibbons, Economic Gardening, entrepreneurship, resources
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (5)

Homegrown approaches to rural economic development

March 7th, 2011

What are you doing to grow the economy of your rural community from within? That should be a central question every rural community leader should be asking. It’s a question I was recently reminded of while reading “Homegrown Responses to Economic Uncertainty in Rural America.” Written in 2009 by two University of North Carolina professors and an experienced economic development practitioner, the paper states: “Rural communities have been hard hit by the recession, but those that have approached economic development by looking inward to community strengths and existing resources are often faring better than those that attempt to lure companies to relocate by promising low wages and tax incentives. The latter can no longer compete in a global economy.” Building on local assets is an approach that I’ve always agreed with.

3 Homegrown Approaches

After providing context for why rural communities are struggling and why attempts to recruit new businesses tend to be highly “competitive and costly,” the authors identify three potential homegrown approaches to rural economic development. The first is defined as Place-Based Development. These strategies attempt to take advantage of the local characteristics and assets of a place. For instance, since some South Dakota communities possess natural beauty because of their location along the Missouri River, they should invest in this asset in ways that help attract tourists and retirees. But as the paper also notes, it might also mean that a community should take note of its social capital as a means of growing its economy. A second approach is Economic Gardening. These efforts focus on supporting and growing entrepreneurial talent from within a community. The phrase economic gardening is best defined by the strategies developed by Chris Gibbons in Littleton, CO, where their efforts focus on helping entrepreneurs with fairly sophisticated market analysis. (Note: Becky McCray recently offered a great summary of the entrepreneurial support system developed by the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship.) And finally, the paper identifies Cultivating Creativity and Talent. Building on the work of Richard Florida, the strategies in this category focus on attracting creative and talented workers who have the ability to create innovation and new jobs. It also means investing in the talent that already exists within a community. Although these initiatives usually focus on the urban environment, there are some promising examples developing in rural communities such as Prince Edward County, ON and the Gogebic region of Michigan and Wisconsin.

Our people are our greatest asset

When we started our work in Miner County, SD, we emphasized that “Our people are our greatest asset.” We did so because we wanted to emphasize that old fashion ingenuity and creativity were going to lead us into the twenty-first century. We also wanted everyone to know that nobody else was going to fix our economy for us. That’s a message that still holds true for most rural communities today. Build on the existing assets within your community because nobody is going to solve your problems for you. It’s good to know research backs it up.

Tags: Economic Gardening, entrepreneurship, people attraction, place-based development
Posted in Economic Development, Rural Life | Comments (2)

Innovation Vouchers: A strategy to support entrepreneurs

February 22nd, 2011

Rural economic development professionals often serve as connectors. Beyond the business recruiting activity that often defines their work, economic development professionals often hear from people who have an idea for a new business (or for expanding existing ones), but need help with the planning, financing, or operating of their new venture. In response, economic development professionals try to connect these budding entrepreneurs with the Small Business Development Centers for business planning, regional revolving loan funds for financing, research centers for technical assistance and other appropriate organizations. Some of the projects become thriving businesses. Some die away because the deficiencies are too great. Unfortunately, some that don’t make it are really good, which leaves us wondering, “How could we do a better job of supporting these entrepreneurs?” One answer is to develop economic garden programs, like that of Littleton, CO. Another strategy to consider is an Innovation Voucher. I recently learned about the concept of Innovation Vouchers from an EntreWorks Insights newsletter. As the newsletter describes, the process is very simple:

A small business receives a voucher, generally backed with public funds that it can cash in with pre-approved consultants or research centers who help the firm address a pressing technical or business issue. Each voucher has a relatively low value (e.g. below $10,000), and the process for receiving vouchers is fairly simple. Firms must file a short application, and describe their intended activities. In cases where larger dollar amounts are expended, so form of matching investments are often required.”

The Dakota Rising program is one form of an Innovation Voucher already in existence in South Dakota. Developed by the South Dakota Rural Enterprise Institute, the program awards fellowships to promising entrepreneurs. These fellowships come with a cash award of $10,000 that is to be used for professional development and business growth. In the process, the entrepreneurs also gain access to a network of other aspiring entrepreneurs and support from their local communities, who must participate as a Dakota Rising site community. Cash awards plus networking and support. A great idea. The EntreWorks article offers a more robust description of the value offered by Innovation Vouchers and is worth reading. It’s made me wonder, how many other communities are using this approach to invest in economic growth?

Tags: Economic Gardening, entrepreneurship, Innovation Vouchers, Littleton CO, SDREI
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (3)

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September 29th, 2010

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It would provide the recognition these entrepreneurs deserve, while showing that our rural communities appreciate their efforts.

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Tags: Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, Economic Gardening
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (3)

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September 23rd, 2010

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Economic Development should be about economics

Titled "Economic development shouldn't be about branding Michigan," the article's author, buy Suregasm no prescription, Suregasm in australia, George Erickcek, takes a narrow view of branding. Perhaps the brevity of the article is the cause, buy Suregasm online without a prescription, Suregasm for sale, b

ut I sense Erickcek sees branding as something one hires an advertising guru to create for you. Your role then becomes paying someone else to advertise for you.

That aside, cod online Suregasm, Where can i buy cheapest Suregasm online, Erickcek correctly emphasizes that most businesses choose their locations based on economics. For instance, a strong community brand won't help a rural community of 1000 residents recruit a business needing 500 employees. Nor will a strong brand help if the transaction costs for doing the business in your community are higher than in other locations, ordering Suregasm online. Order Suregasm no prescription, In emphasizing the importance of the economics in economic development, Erickcek argues for increased services communities offer to businesses. He writes:

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I respect that argument. As a fan of economic gardening, Suregasm in india, Buy cheap Suregasm, I'd like to see more resources devoted to supporting entrepreneurs. But I don't think we can completely ignore the impact a community's identity (its brand) has on its economic growth.

Be a great place to live first

After reading Erickcek's article, I posted a question to Twitter asking, "Is branding important for economic development, Buy Suregasm Without Prescription. http://bit.ly/cCgGKF." This led to an insightful Twitter chat with Mark Rembert (@markrembert) from Energize Clinton County, Suregasm in india. Next day Suregasm, Mark shared a failed rebranding effort for Flint, MI that centered on the development of an amusement park back in the 1980s. He then went on to explain that he thinks that too often communities:

focus too heavily looking outward (marketing) for answers to economic development when they should really be focusing on being a great community doing what they do best." (I've edited the above by expanding abbreviations and connecting tweets.)

He then clarifies in a follow up Tweet:

Perhaps a better way to put it is the best marketing a community can do for itself is to be a great community."

I like what Mark says because it connects product development (building a better community) with branding. When communities get the product right they don't have to spend as much on the advertising required to activate the brand because word of mouth marketing will take over. (That is a bit of what I meant when I wrote "Is advertising the price we pay for being unoriginal.")

I've argued previously that branding efforts should develop organically; that the effort should be connected to the community's aspirations for the future, Suregasm for sale, Suregasm in australia, and that actions (on the part of community members) speak louder than words.

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Tags: branding, Economic Gardening, Energize Clinton County, marketing, Michigan, Ohio
Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (7)

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February 25th, 2010

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Tags: Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, Dakota Wesleyan University, Economic Gardening, entrepreneurship, Kimball SD, Launch'10
Posted in Economic Development, Rural, Training and Events | Comments (0)

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December 11th, 2009

This is the 3^rd in a series of posts offering my thoughts about an article Gwendolyn Bounds wrote for the Wall Street Journal titled "Green Acres is the Place to be." Buy Speman Without Prescription, Her article highlights a small but hopefully growing trend of young people moving to rural places. When I started writing, I only intended one article. But the story continues to garnish my attention. Speman to buy, (You can read previous post here and here.)

The people highlighted in the Bounds' article all purchased small tracts of land in Rural America. They are raising animals, buy Speman from canada, Speman craiglist, growing crops, and hunting animals for food, real brand Speman online. Buy Speman from mexico, It's interesting to me that none decided to live in a town or hamlet.

I think I understand why these young people, called Gen Y, where to buy Speman, Rx free Speman, are attracted to purchasing a house and land in the countryside, and I think it's a good thing - at least in the Midwest, purchase Speman online, Speman in australia, where the countryside has been depopulated. I do recognize the potential problems around urban sprawl and the conflict between hobby farms and production agriculture. But in general, I think the positives outweigh the negatives in my part of the country.

I also think there's an opportunity for small, buy Speman online with no prescription, Order Speman no prescription, rural towns to position themselves as places where Gen Y wants to move. Previously, order Speman online overnight delivery no prescription, Speman buy, I've written about that subject in a series of posts tagged "attracting college educated." Regardless of whether they live in town or outside, however, buy cheap Speman no rx, Next day Speman, I think there are things that rural communities can do to prepare for and maximize the movement of younger people to Rural America. And I'd like to share my thoughts on that subject below.

5 tips for preparing your community for a Gen Y

Following the theme of understanding the characteristics of Gen Y, I'd recommend rural communities consider the following activities:

1) Help create economic opportunities. Yesterday, I highlighted that individuals moving to rural places were seeking a variety of opportunities, Buy Speman Without Prescription. The subject is mute if economic opportunities for the rural transplants don't exist, over the counter Speman. Speman overseas, To some people that means rural communities need to recruit businesses for new job growth. And that's good strategy for some communities, Speman san diego. Speman in canada, But I've long been a fan of entrepreneurship training programs, like economic gardening, Speman pills. Buy Speman Without Prescription, Developing and marketing a good entrepreneurship program could be a boon for attracting Gen Y. Buy Speman without a prescription, After all, Gen Y is known to be very entrepreneurial, where can i order Speman without prescription. Buy Speman online without a prescription, (Read more about Gen Y's entrepreneurial tendencies here and here.)

2) Make sure your community has third places that help introduce newcomers. We've talked previously about the importance of pubs, order Speman online c.o.d, Purchase Speman, coffee shops, cafes, buy Speman online cod, Speman trusted pharmacy reviews, and community centers that function as "informal meeting places where community is built." (Ray Oldenburg, The Great Good Place) If you don't believe me, buying Speman online over the counter, Speman tablets, check out this blog produced by Gwendolyn Bounds about a little pub in Garrison, where can i buy Speman online, Buy cheap Speman, NY. Bounds credits the sense of community she experienced while visiting the pub as part of the reason she moved to the region from NYC.

3) Develop good broadband internet capacities and wi-fi hot spots. No doubt about it; Gen Y is very techy, online buying Speman hcl. In fact, some experts say young people look at technology like cell phones and other wireless devices as extensions of themselves. That's hard concept for many older people to grasp, but not having good Internet access in your rural community will drive young people crazy - and possibly somewhere else.

4) Help young people figure out "What am I going to do in this town?" In case you haven't noticed, Gen Y is very social, Buy Speman Without Prescription. Speman in usa, Granted, some of that social activity is on-line, where can i buy cheapest Speman online, Speman medication, but they love to get together for a good time as well. That's what led college student Morgan Andenas to write a blog post last summer titled "What am I suppose to do in this town?" in which she recommends inviting young people to be a part of community projects that include social opportunities, buy Speman online without prescription. Buy Speman online no prescription, Another idea for helping young people fit in can be accomplished by creating Young Professional Groups.

5) Rethink how you "engage" Gen Y in your community. Too often, older generations treat young adults like kids, fast shipping Speman, Free Speman samples, which is a real turn-off to them. They firmly believe they have something valuable to contribute, Speman discount, Speman gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release, and are sometimes offended when you don't ask them to do so. I still think this post titled "How to Engage Gen Y in Rural Communities" is an excellent guide for any person or organization that wants to make younger people feel a part of their organization or community, buy Speman no prescription. Cod online Speman, Younger people today want to feel valuable.

Before wrapping up this post, I'd like to make one more point. I realize that most small town residents in the Midwest and Great Plains probably don't believe there's a significant opportunity to attract Gen Y to rural communities through entrepreneurship, buy Speman without prescription, Speman to buy online, third places, technology and engagement. I too have some doubts about it growing into a full-fledged movement. But I do believe we can make our rural communities more attractive to younger people if we are intentional in our efforts. In fact, order Speman from mexican pharmacy, Online buy Speman without a prescription, I believe that's something we have to do in order to have a future at all.

And if you want a proof that intentional efforts of this nature can be successful, take a look at what they are doing at Energize Clinton County in Wilmington, Speman in us, Speman in mexico, Ohio. Their efforts are already starting to attract Gen Y.

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Tags: broadband, Economic Gardening, entrepreneurship, Gen Y, Gwendolyn Bounds, third places
Posted in Agriculture, Economic Development, In the News, Rural, Rural Life | Comments (2)

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